(AOF) – Europorte (Getlink) has been selected by CargoBeamer to provide traction for the new rail motorway service between Sète (France) and Cologne (Germany). The train towed by Europorte has 20 wagons and can transport the equivalent of 38 trucks. It will connect, at the rate of 2 rotations per week, these logistics hubs with strong development potential. This new traffic is a first for Europorte, which will operate its first intermodal rail motorway service and thus pursue its international development.
“This development is further proof of the growing demand from manufacturers for the modal shift from road to rail for long distances”, stresses Getlink.
AOF – LEARN MORE
Key points
– Rail carrier operator of the cross-Channel line under concession until 2086, providing 70% of Channel crossings by car and 40% of those by truck, diversified in freight and rail logistics under the Europorte brand and electrical interconnection under the Eleclink brand;
– Group revenue of €816 million organized into 3 branches: Fixed Link for the Channel concession (88% of revenue), Europorte for rail freight (12%) and Eleclink, future electrical interconnection between France and Great Britain ;
– Business model based on the recurrence of results by: the generation of additional turnover in the Cross-Channel link for a minor marginal cost, the infrastructures having already been completed and profitability constantly increasing for 13 years / complementarity with the rail freight in France and Eleclink;
– Open capital
(
5.03% for Effage, behind Atlantia with 15.5% and TCI with 14%)
,
Yann Leriche being Managing Director and Jacques Gounon Chairman of the 15-member Board of Directors;
– Debt still high at €4.1 billion but €629 million in available cash, or nearly 3 times the annual debt service, with a term of 19 years.
Challenges
– “Ambitions 2022” strategy with confirmed objectives of an operating profit of €735 million and an annual increase of €0.05 in the dividend;
– Innovation strategy reinforced by the creation of the “engineering and projects” department and based on 2 pillars: data analysis to optimize predictive maintenance and equipment / a global platform ensuring collection, visualization, prediction and cybersecurity. .;
– Environmental strategy with 3 priority issues – energy transition & climate, preservation of natural environments and waste & circular economy -, 6 commitments and 12 results indicators: 30% reduction in direct emissions (vs 2019), with an intermediate objective of – 15% in 2023 / towards 100% nuclear or hydraulic energy consumption without CO2 emissions (already 90%) / after the creation of 37 natural hectares, improvement of air quality and objective of reducing use by 10% drinking water / towards 3 partnerships or service offers in the circular economy: issues of green bonds to finance Eleclink;
– Progress of the Eleclink project, marketable from mid-2022 after the agreement for the laying of the cable in the tunnel;
– Resumption of the dynamics of the service contracts of Montbéliard on the PSA site, of infrastructure works in Bordeaux and in New Aquitaine, of the Socorail ITE contract at Lafarge la Couronne.
Challenges
– Stock market catalysts: lifting of anti-Covid restrictions, new Eurostar destinations (expectation of a Bordeaux-London line), strengthening in port logistics, obtaining contracts by Europorte;
– Conclusion of negotiations with social partners to reduce the number of employees;
– Continued reduction in operating expenses, by €45 million on 1
er
semester, which is more than the annual objective;
– Suspension of the 2021 targets, due to the lack of a stable framework for cross-border travel;
– Resumption of the 2020 dividend at €0.05.