Recording in progress.
Presentation of the first quarter of 2025. All the documentation has been sent to you in the early hours of this morning. It is also available on our website. I would also like to mention, and I'm sure you're aware of it, that as a result of the carve-out, the partial carve-out last year, which was reflected on our accounts from the 1st of November 2024, we're going to be comparing this year's accounts, which especially in the bottom part of the accounts are not really comparable because if you look at the profits before tax, there's a contribution already in 2024 from cement and real estate, which were really considered to be interrupted activities. Regarding revenues and EBITDA, the comparison is really valid because we have expressed the accounts of the first quarter of 2024.
I wanted to mention this because the first quarter means that there was a fall in the consolidated net profits of the group. In fact, 43.4% that we have expressed, up to EUR 55.8 million of attributable profits, include this effect. In the first quarter of last year, we had EUR 35.2 million coming from these two activities, cement and real estate. Also, at the consolidated level, I just want to mention something because you know that the first quarter is always a very short period. We had an asymmetrical impact from the evolution of the exchange rate of euro as compared with other currencies. Last year, there was a contribution, a positive contribution of FX differences, but this year the contribution is of the same amount but of the opposite kind.
There is a base effect of approximately EUR 32 million that also had an effect on the net profits. These two effects have created an asymmetry between the operational evolution of the company and the attributable net profits. As I was saying, reviewing the main figures at the consolidated level of FCC in the first three months, the consolidated revenues were increased by 8.9%. I would like to mention that the main element here was the environment activity because of a combination of a good organic evolution underlying, apart from the effect of the different acquisitions that we will be looking at in greater detail that have taken place over the period, which created a positive effect. Water also had a good performance, and this would be the second area that should be mentioned in terms of its contribution across all its main activities.
Afterwards, I will give you further details. At the level of the EBITDA, the figure was EUR 324.4 million. This is an increase of 14.6%, even higher than the one recorded in revenues. Here we should mention that the main element, apart from a good operational performance, there was a base effect last year in the environmental area. Since this year, we're not going to have that anymore. This has also helped reach this higher EBITDA growth. This has resulted in an EBITDA margin over consolidated revenues of 15%. The other headings of the P&L account, apart from the interrupted activities and FX effects I mentioned, did not show any effects that were of any consideration. Now, the net financial debt at the end of the first quarter was quite similar to the balance we had in the previous period until December.
We were slightly above EUR 3 billion, EUR 3.093 billion, with a very modest growth that can be attributed to the expansion of the working capital, which in some of our areas was quite marked halfway through the period. This is something that is quite common for the group. This is the main culprit for this element. Net assets were quite stable, with a slight reduction of 0.3% to slightly more than EUR 3 billion. Here, I perhaps should mention that the consolidation reserves of foreign companies, also as a result of some of the FX variations, well, gave rise to these small variations, particularly because of minority interest, which is related to the assets belonging to minority shareholders. I should also mention the capture of new activities in terms of revenues.
There is a breakdown here, and you can see that we stand at over EUR 45 billion, more than 6%. Here, I would like to mention, of course, there has been an increase across all the different areas. Environment, water, and construction had a slightly higher importance because of an element I will be mentioning later to do with construction specifically. As I was saying, if we now turn to the different business areas in greater detail, in the environment here, revenues increased by 16.7%, reaching over EUR 2 billion. Here we had good performance across all the four platforms we operate in. What we have done since the end of last year is to aggregate the different operations at Atlantic, which would comprise our operations in Spain, Portugal, and France after the takeover we carried out last year.
As I say, the evolution has been quite positive across all the different platforms. If we start by this new platform of Western Europe, in the case of Spain, revenues increased by more than 9%, EUR 576 million. Here we had a good evolution. The situation is very stable, particularly in our main activity, which is waste collection and street cleaning, but all the other activities, processing, had a good performance, a very harmonious performance. In other countries such as France and Portugal, we had EUR 35 million on this platform, which compares with a much lower figure in the previous period. This year, we should mention the acquisition of SGG, the French group that we took over, whose activity is very similar to the activities we carry out in Spain, waste collection, street cleaning, and also in Portugal, the performance was quite similar to that of other countries.
The second platform that we have in Europe, the second most important one, is the U.K. Here, revenues increased significantly by over 34%, reaching over EUR 240 million. There are two effects to be mentioned. You will remember that in June 2024, we bought the U.K. Urbaser Group, which is really focused on processing. We also had more activity in the recycling and valorization chapters. Here, we really act as collectors on behalf of the British Tax Authority. There was a lower collection of the discharge tax, which meant that our revenues were slightly lower. The last platform I wanted to mention in Europe is the Central European platform. We have a cluster with different countries, and the growth was moderate but still positive, 4.2% more.
Here, I would like to mention the Czech Republic and Poland with quite harmonious growth between waste collection and street cleaning. The last platform I want to mention is that of the United States. The turnover increased to more than EUR 100 million in just one quarter. This is the first time we have reached that large figure. There are two effects to be mentioned. The first one is the organic effect because we are still incorporating new contracts based on the platform we already have, new contracts in Florida, and a new contract in North Carolina. There is also a more modest contribution, but still important, because we made a takeover of the Gel Recycling Holdings Group, which is a waste processing plant in the center of Florida. This takeover took place in May 2024.
This increase of 16.7% of our consolidated revenues, our EBITDA went up by 46.2%. Here, apart from all that I mentioned to do with the four platforms, we should mention a negative base effect we had last year that was already reported in 2024. This was a provision of EUR 10.9 million for a claim for the collection of the discharge tax in the U.K. If we adjusted for that provision of EUR 10.9 million, you would see that removing this from the base effect, the real increase in EBITDA, homogeneous EBITDA for the group in environmental activities, was very similar to our revenues. It is a positive improvement, around 17% of the environmental EBITDA for the first quarter. Now, if we look at water, as far as water is concerned, to the end of March, revenues increased by 10.1%, slightly more than EUR 422 million.
This was basically supported by the increase in the rates we charge across different geographies. I will mention this in detail in a minute. The water supply, we are present in four continents, adding up to 15 different sites. The growth has been harmonious, both in our main activity, which is management, integrated or partial management of the water cycle, and also in what we call technology and networks, which is some projects we carry out linked to the services we render for managing the water cycle. Having said this, in Spain, starting by the main market we have, which is Spain, revenues increased to EUR 236.7 million. Here, there was a combination, really, a harmonious combination between consumption, cubic meters that we release, and an increase in rates. Also, technology and networks had a good performance, reaching an increase of 11%.
As far as the center and the east of Europe, where we have two important markets where we own the network, and this is something important because the activity is 100% that of a utility. This is the case of Czech Republic and Georgia. Revenues increased to EUR 68 million, 5.5% more. Here, we have to mention our increase in the rates we charge in the two markets. Also, in the Czech Republic, as I mentioned, for Spain, we had a slight increase in consumption. Whereas in Georgia, there was a more flat performance. Since we are net producers, not just for the self-consumption of electrical energy, but we can also export to the network, thanks to our hydroelectrical plant in Georgia, we did have an increase because we sold the surplus to the system, and this was something good for us.
Now, for the rest of Europe, we are present in Portugal, also in Italy, etc. Here, we increased by 7.3% our revenues, EUR 28 million. In Italy, again, as in Czech Republic and Georgia, we had an increase of rates. Again, this is the concession-based model, which allowed us to make these increases. As I said in previous quarters, in Italy, for example, in Sicily, as far as water is concerned, the drought has hit us very hard, especially last year, but also this year. In spite of this, the business model is highly resilient and allowed us to have a good performance. In the Americas, the turnover increased by 11.7%, EUR 58.5 million. Here, you know that since the 1st of January of last year, and this is the like-for-like figure, it's comparable.
We included a new company in Texas, where the model is basically based on an integrated cycle. In other areas, we also had increases in rates in companies in countries like Colombia. Also in technology and networks, we have carried out projects. In Colombia and in Mexico, we have quite a few contracts for the management of hydraulic infrastructures. Finally, in the Middle East and North Africa, MENA, especially in the Arabian Peninsula, the main market is Saudi Arabia, revenues increased by 8.5%, EUR 40.8 million. Here, I should mention the clusters we have in Saudi Arabia, where we are just starting off, but this model holds great promise in the future. Now, the EBITDA for water increased to EUR 90.8 million. Here, I would like to mention that, actually, the margin remained quite stable, EUR 21.5 over sales.
There were some readjustments of the margins for some BOT contracts, that is, partial cycle contracts. That is what explains the slower pace in the increase of EBITDA than the increase in revenues themselves. It was not really very significant. Now, if we turn to construction, I want to mention, and you know this already, that the two previous activities, environment and water, contributed 80% of the group's EBITDA. Now, if we turn to construction, DPC revenues rose to EUR 626 million, 3.4% less. The problem here was because, well, some very important projects came to an end internationally, particularly last year, the Maya Train in Mexico, which gave us a very healthy margin, and we completed the project in a very successful way.
We made a lot of progress in other projects, which did not manage to offset the completion of the Maya Train project. In terms of geographies, in Spain, we had a reduction, quite a marked reduction, 7.6% less, EUR 21 million less. Here in Spain, we also completed last year a project that was very important, such as that of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. With respect to the different positions we have in the rest of the European continent, there was a more positive performance, 9.8% more than the previous year. Here, we're still making progress in the different projects we have in Romania, in the railways in Romania, the highway in Wales, which is being done on a concession basis, and another highway in the Netherlands.
In the Americas, the turnover also went down because of, of course, the completion of the Maya Train project. I should mention for the Americas, and I want to mention this particularly, that there was a significant growth in our project portfolio, particularly because in the American market, particularly in the United States, we incorporated a new project that has now moved on from design to construction. This is a model that we are trying to implement more and more at a general level, and which allows us to reduce risks because first, you talk to the customer, you define the contracting model and the execution of the works. A contract is signed, and then this, when you start the execution phase, things are very streamlined because you have already defined the scope and the cost that are going to be current.
In this Scarborough contract, this is precisely what we did, and this allowed us to offset the Maya Train reduction. Also, in the MENA region, Middle East and North Africa, we are being very cautious in this area, but we have made some progress in Australia. There is a series of jurisdictions where we had a fall of 14.4% in our revenues to EUR 37.5 million because there was less activity in important contracts that we had in Saudi Arabia, such as the case of the completion, very successful completion of the railway works in the capital and the underground lines in Riyadh or the NEO tunnel.
At the same time, we're going to start off a social housing project that we have signed with the authorities of Queensland in Australia, which is a project that is quite significant, which is added to some other minor works that we also have in Australia. The EBIT of construction also experienced a fall, EUR 34.9 million. The operational margin was also lower than the previous periods, but it is quite aligned to our forecast. Finally, the fourth business area I want to mention is concessions. These, all of them are, really, different types of infrastructures. Revenues, EUR 21.5 million. Growth was quite significant, 26.5%. Here, fundamentally, there are two elements to be mentioned. First of all, you should remember that we made an acquisition of a certain percentage of 50% of the concession of the urban tramway of Parla in the Madrid region.
We also started the development phase and the implementation phase of a road concession in Aragon, also in Spain, the Aragon region. The revenues for concessions basically are concentrated in Spain. The most important ones in terms of their contribution are the road, the motorway in Cuenca, and then another concession we have for a motorway in Murcia, in the southeast of Spain. The performance was also good across all the different concessions we have in terms of volumes and also in our urban projects. The EBITDA was EUR 13.7 million, 13.2% more. The EBITDA was aligned with what we expected over the period.
There was a slight reduction as compared with the comparable period of the previous year, but we should also consider that when concessions are in the development phase before the exploitation phase, for example, in the Aragon motorway, their contribution margin over that period is slightly lower, and this is only logical. It is all very well aligned with our forecasts. I think that this is the long and short of what I wanted to share with you about this first quarter. Apart from the things I mentioned about the differences because of the carve-out that we had last year and other details that I also mentioned when I spoke about the different areas, I think that the evolution has been quite healthy, both in terms of revenues and operational margin. Also, revenues were very positive, and I do not have much else to add.
I think we should move to the Q&A period. Thank you very much for your attention. Are there any questions?
First question. Could you give us information about the revenues and the EBITDA figure for organic growth of the first quarter?
Yes. Just let me look at the figures for a minute. For the environment area, just the environmental business. In the environmental business, at the level of organic growth, in the first quarter, there was an increase of 8%. The rest, which is 50%, would come from the taken-over activities.
Next question.
Was any M&A transaction carried out in the first quarter of 2025?
No. To be honest, there were no M&A transactions. Nothing was incorporated to the consolidation perimeter over the period.
In fact, as I was saying, with respect to the evolution of our net financial debt in this first quarter, the payments that we made for investments were very well aligned with the investments and the recurrent activities of the group. The investments in group companies were practically negligible, not very important at all. The leverage target is under three times.
When do you think you will be able to reach that target?
Probably by the end of the year. The question about the borrowing target, it is not that we have a target under three times EBITDA. If we look at the consolidated figure for FCC last year, we closed with an EBITDA of EUR 1.45 billion with a debt that closed below EUR 3 billion. We would be at a level of 2x EBITDA at a consolidated level.
You know that our borrowing level is easy to understand because 100% is concentrated in the two business areas that are most visible: utilities or pseudo utilities, that is, environment, waste management, and water and water cycle. That's where 100% of the debt is concentrated. In these two business areas, as you know, we have mixed hybrid financing, banks and capital markets. We have covenants, and we have borrowing targets. In the case of water and the water cycle, we have a commitment to stay below 5x debt EBITDA. In the case of environment, three times. At a consolidated level, we are there. We were there at the end of last year, we were at the level of two 2x, which I think is very good because utilities account for 80% of our revenues. This is quite robust.
To answer the question, I think we are where we really want to be. We do not have the target of going down from this. In the two activities where we concentrate 100% of our gross financial debt, which is water and environment, we have a good rating and investment grade, and we feel comfortable with our leverage level.
Next question. Could you quantify the evolution of the working capital over this period?
In this first quarter, as I said already, there was an expansion. We stood at a figure slightly above EUR 150 million, which is lower than our figure in the like-for-like period of the previous period. This is an expansion that is typical of this first half, and it is quite aligned to, quite well aligned to our target.
Next question.
In water, can we expect that during the first quarter, the EBITDA debt will stay aligned with the figure of the same period of last year?
I think that we will be halfway between the two, I would say, but closer to the figure for 2024. Because in water, water is very seasonal. We operate in the northern hemisphere, and as you know, in the northern hemisphere, when summer comes, people consume more water. I would say that precisely because of that reason, our consumption, as you know, is residential. That is really one of our strengths. Of course, we provide services to industrial companies, so it is basically residential. That is why in the summer, in the northern hemisphere, there is quite a high consumption level. I would not extrapolate this 21% for the rest of the year.
Of course, there may be a few things that might affect, such as BOTs, but we will be closer to the figure of 2024 than to the figures of the first quarter of 2025. Okay. If there's no further questions, I would just like to thank you very much for your interest and for paying attention to what I had to say. You know that we are available to you for any questions you may have. Thank you.