Vinci eyes Latam motorways, Iran airports for expansion abroad

By Dominique Vidalon
PARIS, Feb 5 (Reuters) - France's Vinci SGEF.PA is looking
at opportunities to grow in concessions in Latin America and in
oil and gas and infrastructures in Iran, as it further expands
abroad to counter weak growth at home, its chief executive said
on Friday.
Europe's largest construction and concessions company
generated 42 percent of its 2015 sales abroad and was "clearly
on track" with its goal to lift that ratio to 50 percent and
more within a few years, Xavier Huillard told a news conference.
To counter a slump in French construction, Vinci has
expanded into faster growing and more profitable concessions
such as airports, notably abroad and in motorways as well as in
energy engineering.
In Iran, where Vinci was lined up last week to design, build
and operate new terminals for two airports, the group was
discussing opportunities in oil and gas and holding preliminary
talks to build high-speed train stations in the country,
Huillard said.
Vinci was also looking to grow all its businesses in
America, notably motorway concessions in Brazil, Colombia and
Mexico, and airport concessions in Peru.
Vinci operates 33 airports worldwide. In December it bought
the Dominican Aerodom company, which operates six airports in
the Dominican Republic.
The group also made its first foray into Japan by obtaining
in November 2015 the right to operate Kansai International
Airport in Osaka with Japan's Orix Corp 8591.T for the next 44
years.
"We had a very nice harvest in 2015. We would be delighted
to match that in 2016 but this may not be the case. There are
many opportunities but we are very selective," Huillard said.
He reiterated Vinci was ready to bid for the Lyon and Nice
airports in France, which are set to be privatised this year.
Vinci said after the market close on Thursday that the
French construction market it operates in was stabilising and
that group net and operating profits would rise this year even
though revenue might decline slightly on a like-for-like basis.

By 1129 GMT Vinci shares gained 1.76 percent at 61.36 euros,
outperforming a 0.17 percent gain in the CAC-40 index of French
blue chips .FCHI . They are up 24 percent over the past 12
months.