Mota-Engil separates mining services into new unit
Mota-Engil has created a standalone mining services company, a move that could pave the way for new investors in a business that generated €732 million last year.
Portuguese construction and engineering group Mota-Engil has set up a new company, Mota-Engil Mining Services, separating its mining services business from its engineering and construction operations. The group has already said it is considering bringing in new shareholders for that business.
The group’s 11 current mining contracts will be transferred to the new company. Most of those contracts are in Africa, with others in Armenia. Until now, each mining contract had been housed in a separate company, with several of them under Mota-Engil Africa.
The restructuring comes a few months after executive director Manuel Mota said, at the group’s Capital Markets Day in March, that opening the unit’s capital to outside investors was “a possibility” and that the company had received approaches. Manuel Mota is the chairman of the new entity.
Mining generated €732 million in revenue for Mota-Engil last year and €216 million in EBITDA. The company has also said it expects higher profitability from mining in the coming years, while taking initial steps toward operating its own mines in Cameroon and Malawi.
Originally published at Eco.pt
