A 25% revenue increase has helped CAF report a €18m net profit for the first half of 2018, up 12% from the same period last year.

CAF says while order intake was down 10% at €407m, its order backlog as of June 30 2018 stood at €5.7bn, equivalent to 3.9-times the annual revenue reported in 2017. The bulk of the backlog is international orders, spread out over more than 50 countries. CAF says it also has more than €1bn worth of projects pending signature or in which CAF is preferred bidder.

Net turnover for the first half of 2018 was €943m, up 25%. Of this, 71% was vehicles, 19% servicing, 5% wheelsets and components, and 5% other business.

Ebitda for the period was €87m, up 1%, profit before tax was €36m, up 46%, and income tax was €19m, up 107%. CAF says the increase in income tax was due to a new regional corporate income tax (CIT) law approved where it has its tax office headquarters. Gross financial debt increased by €42m in the first half of the year, improving CAF’s liquidity.

CAF maintained its favourable outlook, including a double-digit turnover growth for 2018, an upward trend in profit in the coming financial years, an ambition to maintain current historic backlog based on stable value of open tenders above €6bn, and a continuation of its 2020 strategic lines, including a plan for growth in all businesses.