At a meeting in Barcelona today, FCC's shareholders voted to expand the Group's Board of Directors. This took place through the appointment of Carlos M. Jarque, CEO of FCC, and Miguel Ángel Martínez Parra, General Manager of Organisation and Finance, as executive directors, and of Antonio Gómez García and Alfonso Salem Slim as nominee directors. These four appointments are conditional upon approval by the CNMV of Grupo Carso's takeover bid for 100% of FCC.

As a result of the appointment of these four directors, the Board has been expanded from 11 to 15 members. Grupo Carso has eight seats on the Board (including the two executive directors), Esther Koplowitz has four, and the other three directors are independent, as established in the agreement signed in February between the two largest shareholders of FCC, the Citizen Services Group.

Addressing the shareholders, Esther Alcocer Koplowitz, Chair of FCC said: "aware that only by adapting to new market demands could we advance, we have undertaken major restructuring of our organisation and the Group's various business units." She also referred to the "complex debt renegotiation and another equity issue, which was successful, all of which was only achieved thanks to the determined and valiant support of our largest shareholder, Carlos Slim, and to Esther Koplowitz's generosity and love of the company."

In her opinion, "their shared will and determination to pursue a better future for the FCC Group give us the necessary strength to address the challenges that this promising new stage of our existence will bring. We will face these challenges with the same capabilities that have underpinned our business success to date: adaptability to change, and agility in decision-making."

The Chair of FCC expressed her conviction that "we have a great opportunity ahead, and we are approaching it with confidence and determination. In this endeavour, we are supported by the hard work and skill of our most vital asset: our people. With the respect and trust of our clients and the commitment of all concerned, I am convinced that we will devise the most reliable formula for approaching the future with greater confidence."

It was also the first Shareholders' Meeting to be addressed by Carlos M. Jarque as FCC's CEO. He discussed the company's performance in 2015, which he described as "a year of sweeping changes". Jarque focused on three areas on which the company worked last year: finance, operations and governance.

In the financial area, the CEO noted the €709.5 million equity issue that was approved in December 2015 and paid up in March. This transaction made it possible to reduce the Tranche B debt with a 15% haircut, strengthen Cementos Portland's capital structure and restructure its funding, reduce leverage, and enhance the Group's debt profile and capital structure.

Jarque also described the divestments performed in 2015 and early in 2016, debt collection and outstanding claims, new contracts, and the high rate of contract renewal.

Better results

As for operations, the CEO emphasised the synergies between the business units, cost cutting, centralised procurement — which saved €34 million in 2015 — and the implementation of new organisation structures, among other initiatives.

Referring to governance, Jarque described the changes in the Group's ownership structure, the takeover bid by Grupo Carso for 100% of FCC and the delisting takeover bid for Cementos Portland. "All these measures will be reflected in the financial results, as seen in recent months," concluded the Group's CEO.

He also discussed the milestones in the business areas in 2015. They include the award to FCC Aqualia of the Abu Rawash wastewater treatment plant in Egypt, the Water division's largest-ever contract, worth €2.4 billion; the construction of the Toyo tunnel in Colombia, for €392 million, and the construction and operation, for 15 years, of a waste recycling plant in Dallas, under a contract worth up to €270 million, which as awarded to FCC Environment.