Stifel and his advice, renewed this morning, to buy Vinci on the stock market are not attracting customers today, while investors are reacting above all to information that fell on Friday evening according to which several construction subsidiaries of the group, including Vinci Construction France, were indicted in February for “private corruption”for alleged misdeeds that took place between 2008 and 2016.
This case, reported by the AFP agency, quoting the Nanterre prosecutor’s office, involves the former emir of Qatar, Hamad Ben Khalifa Al-Thani, and his former wealth manager in France, Chadia Clot, who managed the French fund Property Management (FPM) until June 2017.
According to comments made by a source close to the investigation reported by Agence France Presse, an examining magistrate suspects Vinci Construction France of having paid “several million euros”, notably via its subsidiaries Petit and GTM Bâtiment, to a company owned by businesswoman Chadia Clot. What purpose ? That the construction group, diversified in motorway and airport concessions and also in energy services, obtains certain agreements “such as the renovation of the salons of the Ritz hotel or the rehabilitation of La Samaritaine in Paris”says AFP.
A preliminary investigation was opened seven years ago, in 2015, by the eco-financial department of the Nanterre prosecution. It followed a report from Tracfin, the French intelligence service responsible for combating tax evasion and money laundering. In 2018, this investigation was entrusted to an investigating judge.
World leader in energy services
On the stock market, this Monday, the shares, which lost up to almost 5%, to 86.57 euros, sign the largest drop in the Cac 40. However, since the beginning of the year, they have lost less ( -7%) than the Paris star index (-12%). Vinci is, together with the Spanish Ferrovial, the company in the infrastructure sector that the investment bank Stifel prefers in Europe. Its analysts recommend the purchase of Vinci shares to target a price target of 112.5 euros, which suggests a potential appreciation of 30%. “Concessions continue to recover, with motorway traffic hovering around 2019 levels, while airports benefit from the lifting of travel restrictionsargue Augustin Cendre and Tobias Woerner. At the same time, stimulus programs should start bearing fruit from 2023, both in North America and Europe. Even if cost inflation should weigh on these programs, their size is such that the volume effect should remain more than favorable. »
With specific reference to Vinci, Stifel’s financial analysts believe that ” the market is not yet aware of the change in direction that is taking place towards more airports and energy services [installations énergétiques moins énergivores dans les entreprises, maintenance]. » Vinci finalized, at the end of last year, the acquisition of Cobra IS, acquired from the Spanish construction group ACS. Vinci is the world leader in multi-technical energy services, ahead of Bouygues, propelled to this position thanks to the acquisition of Equans. This activity, which brings recurrence to turnover, allows construction groups to be less dependent on economic cycles.