Ladies and gentlemen, it's a pleasure for me to share with you, like every year, around this date, the results of the recently finished year. Please allow me to highlight that these figures that we'll mention next are the result of the deep transformation that the company has experienced in the last few years. The OHLA Group has been able to leave behind old habits to advance with determination towards a more solid and better prepared model in a global and competitive environment. That's why today I address you all with the full satisfaction of accomplishment and a job well done, and with the conviction of having worked rigorously, coherently, and with determination in each decision made. The figures that the Chief Executive Officer will mention next are not only reflecting a positive and sustained evolution, they also comply with the forecast communicated to the market.
They also prove the effectiveness of adopted strategic decisions and the discipline with which they have been followed. To sum up, they are the evidence of a strategic and operational advancement that has been deep, foreseeable, and structural. An advancement that many people considered hard to reach, that now can be seen clearly reflected. Please allow me to mention a especially relevant milestone that I feel especially proud of because of what it symbolizes in terms of transformation and financial responsibility. The leverage ratio of the group is now 1.7 times that EBITDA. This achievement is significant for two reasons. First, because back in 2020, this ratio was 11 times, a figure reflecting the size of the challenge that we were facing and the breadth of the effort we needed to make. Secondly, because it's the clearest proof of our rigorous belief in financial discipline.
This financial discipline has allowed us to settle more than EUR 563 million of debt in six- years. In this regard, I'd like to highlight that our main target is to reduce debt. It hasn't been a simple process. Reducing debt to this level, while strengthening the global performance of the group, has required determination, rigor, and an extremely precise management. That's why this milestone goes beyond the strictly financial terms, symbolizing the ability of this organization to work with excellence and increase its pipeline, even in the most demanding contexts. Therefore, it is a great reason of pride for all of us.
2025 has also been a year of corporate governance strengthening, that has materialized, among other initiatives, in the addition of three new independent directors, recruited according to the most demanding criteria of professionalism and excellence. In this way, half of the board is now made of independent directors, reaching 50% of representation. Let me remind you that this ratio exceeds the recommendations of the main codes of good corporate governance. They're a clear proof of the highest standards of transparency and independence. These new additions are great and proven background profiles in financing infrastructures with a deep knowledge of strategic markets, where we aspire to consolidate our position as a reference company. The arrival of Mrs. Socorro Fernández Larrea and Mr. Vicente Rodero Rodero, and Mr. José Miguel de Andrés Torrecillas, brings a strategic perspective that has been leading in the board's decision-making.
In this way, we're reinforcing the technical quality and the independence of our board. We're also advancing in a more balanced and demanding governance framework, strengthening, therefore, the trust of our shareholders and investors in the institutional solidity of the company. In 2025, we have also settled definitely some judicial uncertainties, such as the arbitration procedure of the Sidra Hospital, that were a sword of Damocles for the company. With this, we dissipate the shadows affecting our feasibility, and we open for our company a newer stage, free of contingencies, fully focused on growth and returns for shareholders. With the disappearance of these shadows, the group is now presenting a solid situation in the face of the stakeholders that for years questioned our stability, and that on many occasions, wanted to condition the confidence of the market.
With the best financial structure over the last few years and with a reinforced corporate governance, once cleared, the main uncertainties, OHLA has now a greater status to approach ambitiously our strategic plan. This plan has been conceived to consolidate a more profitable corporate model, able to generate sustainable growth and fully aligned with the excellence and growth standards we want for OHLA. Due to all this, I can firmly state that OHLA is now a new company, more financially solid, demanding in its management, and a leading example in its governance, and more ready than ever to face the challenges of an increasingly competitive and changing environment. Personally speaking, I cannot hide my pride as a president for being catalysts of this change. I'm proud of the talent and effort of our staff, and of the collective ability to get over obstacles that have seemed insurmountable.
Nowadays, our future is built every day with a commitment of 32,000 collaborators that advance together in the same direction. Therefore, we firmly believe that the potential of this company goes way beyond the circumstances of each moment, and we face the future with a firm determination that OHLA will keep growing and helping grow everyone who is part of this project. Thanks so much for your attention. Next, I'll give the floor to our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tomás Ruiz, who will present in detail the results of the last year.
Thanks so much, dear President. Good day, everyone. It's a pleasure to address you all today to present the results corresponding to the year 2025. As the President just mentioned, the figures we're now sharing are the direct result of a deep transformation of the company, sustained in time and performed with determination.
2025 has been a decisive year for OHLA, a year where we have consolidated our pace, reaffirming our operational solidity, and showing that this company is ready to compete, grow, and create value for the shareholder. As you may see in this presentation, OHLA, yet another year, has complied with all the targets we have set. That's important, extremely important, because when a company meets their targets, they're responding to the confidence given to it. That's why complying and exceeding with the forecast, on yet another year, is not just good news, it's a strategic level. Based on this, please allow me to focus on three indicators that better show than anything else, the deep financial transformation of OHLA since 2020. First of all, as the President mentioned, the gross debt reduction.
We have gone from a ratio of 11 times EBITDA in 2020 to 1.7 times nowadays. It is a great reduction, not very common in our industry, reflecting a combination of discipline, prioritization in strategic matters, and rigorous performance. Few companies can show a deleveraging process of this size without sacrificing the portfolio, the margins or the operational capability. In parallel, the company has transformed its operational capability. That can be reflected clearly in our EBITDA. In only five- years, OHLA has managed to travel its operational results, going from an EBITDA that was not even reaching EUR 65 million to reaching levels of EUR 208 million. Besides, 2025 is a third year in a row of cash flow generation or activity, an indicator that for many years was recurrently negative. That now shows that we're going back to normal.
In this graph that we are sharing, we are showing how OHLA has met and outperformed all objectives included in the guidance at the start of last year. We had sales for EUR 4 billion, which outperformed the objective, and EBITDA grew by 19% compared to the commitment that we took at the start of the year, and by 36.4% compared to 2024, which means EUR 208.1 million EBITDA result. We have another positive net result, so we're back to black with EUR 1.7 million, so we've met the objective. In terms of order intake, we have EUR 4.6 billion, which once again outperformed the objective, which was 2.2%.
Cash activity, cash generation was EUR 76 million generated, which once again confirmed that we are back to normal in terms of liquidity for our activity. Credit rating has improved as well. We obtained a B2 by Fitch Ratings, which is better than what we had in 2024. Our gross financial debt, this is easier said than done, but we canceled EUR 192 million in debt. Concerning the performance of our order book, since 2029, we have gone from EUR 5.5 billion to EUR 9.7 billion in 2025, which is an all-time high. This is an order book increase of 77%. It's geographically diversified, and it emphasizes our home markets.
We're following a strategy which is focused on selecting projects based on strict risk control criteria to guarantee and achieve sustainability and the value of our projects. We're also focusing on projects that mean under EUR 400 million in risk for the company. Our book-to-bill ratio is over 1 time, and our order intake ratio is above the industry's highest standards. Whilst the order book in the United States grew up by EUR 4 billion up to EUR 4 billion in 2025, the geographical distribution has increased the relative weight of Latin America, which partly explains the improvement of our EBITDA. Now, concerning main projects in 2025, I would highlight stable geographies in which we're operating with risk profile, which is aligned with our risk standards, the ones that we very strictly established for our company.
The Port of Miami in the United States is one of the most relevant ports in the country. The Lo Ruiz Tunnel in Chile, this is a key infrastructure for metropolitan mobility around Santiago. The extension of the Pan American Highway, which is an essential corridor for the regional transportation in Central America. In Spain, the new hospitals of Málaga and Huelva. I would also like to highlight the strategic boost of our awards portfolio with the award of a new highway in Brazil with over 45,000 vehicles of traffic, which is already operating. Concerning the activities' cash flow generation, just to go a bit more in detail, this is a key indicator to understand the evolution of the company in the last five years.
2025 was the third year in a row where we had positive cash flow. This confirms once again that we're back to normal, and it's important to highlight that this was complemented by capital increases and the good response of our shareholders, which allowed us to cancel debt as well as making capital investments, whilst also facing the abusive redemption of performance bonds in Kuwait. All of this explains why, in spite of positive cash flow generation, our liquidity has gone down to EUR 847 million. Concerning debt reduction, this is the main change that we have achieved, as we have mentioned. It's very important to keep reiterating that compared to 2020, we have cancelled EUR 563 million in gross debt.
This is and has been and remain, and will remain our main priority objective, and this is a significant effort for an organization that works in such high operating demand. The leverage ratio is 1.7 nowadays, compared to 11 times in 2020. This is something that you don't see in the industry. It requires discipline and operating soundness. Concerning sustainability, I would highlight that we have met 85% of the objectives that we established in our sustainability plan, thus showing that the roadmap that we created was feasible, measurable, and executable. We have also reduced work accident rate by 35% in the last few years.
Three key aspects that I would highlight about 2025, that one of them has already been mentioned and addressed by the president, we took a step forward in our corporate governance by reestablishing our board of directors. Secondly, in 2025, we applied a cost reduction plan that is part of our strategic plan for 2025-2029. The main objective of this cost reduction plan is to reduce costs by EUR 40 million. Amongst saving measures, we have partially relocated our headquarters, and we have partially, we have applied organizational restructuring to simplify our overhead. These measures already mean 50% of the forecast is savings, and we expect to achieve 85% of savings by the end of 2026. We'll be doing more with less.
Something very important in 2025 was that we cleared some of the most important uncertainties the company was facing with the rulings of the litigations of hospital, the Sidra Hospital and the Doha Metro, both in Qatar, and these have meant a positive impact of EUR 17 million for OHLA. Further, in 2025, we agreed asset division of the Centro Canalejas in Madrid, which will allow us to manage this asset more efficiently. To conclude, I would like to highlight that in 2025, we have EBITDA margins for construction of 7%, that we have positive cash flow generation, that we have strongly reduced our gross debt, and we have deleveraged as well. We have extended notes maturity until December 2029 without interim maturities.
We have also cleared the main uncertainties that the company was facing. We are undergoing a cost reduction plan. We can be optimistic for 2026. We forecast sales for over EUR 4.1 billion . We want to keep reducing overhead costs. We will keep focusing permanently on increasing gross margin. We will reach over 215 million EBITDA, order intake of EUR 4.4 billion . We will reinforce our financial stability and operating stability. We will keep rotating non-strategic assets. Thank you very much for your attention. We are going to open the Q&A session with Víctor Pastor, who is the financial director of the group, and Pedro Arellano, who is the director of investor relationships and capital markets.
We will take a few minutes, and we'll have a break before moving on.
Hola, future. Hola, progress. Hola, sustainability. We've been working hard to build the world we want to live in. For more than 110 years, we've made iconic buildings which now form part of our day-to-day. We're now undergoing a change to adapt to the present times and to leave an everlasting footprint from the work we do. In this forever changing world, our team shares the dream: to contribute to progress with resilient and long-lasting buildings that improve people's lives and make the world a better place. In this dream, which we stand for with excitement, we see opportunities for everyone. Thanks to our talented team and innovative culture, and a firm commitment to economic, social, and environmental sustainability, we know we can face all of the challenges ahead.
We are builders, contractors, engineers, workers, but above all, we are progress enablers because we contribute to society's progress. Hola! Hola, future. Hola, progress. Hola, sustainability. We've been working hard to build the world we want to live in. For more than 110 years, we've made iconic buildings, which now form part of our day-to-day. We're now undergoing a change to adapt to the present times and to leave an everlasting footprint from the work we do. In this forever changing world, our team shares the dream: to contribute to progress with resilient and long-lasting buildings that improve people's lives and make the world a better place. In this dream, which we stand for with excitement, we see opportunities for everyone.
Thanks to our talented team and innovative culture, and a firm commitment to economic, social, and environmental sustainability, we know we can face all of the challenges ahead. We are builders, contractors, engineers, workers, but above all, we are progress enablers because we contribute to society's progress. Hola. Hola, future. Hola, progress. Hola, sustainability. We've been working hard to build the world we want to live in. For more than 110 years, we've made iconic buildings, which now form part of our day-to-day. We're now undergoing a change to adapt to the present times and to leave an everlasting footprint from the work we do. In this forever changing world, our team shares the dream: to contribute to progress with resilient and long-lasting buildings that improve people's lives and make the world a better place.
In this dream, which we stand for with excitement, we see opportunities for everyone. Thanks to our talented team and innovative culture, and a firm commitment to economic, social, and environmental sustainability, we know we can face all of the challenges ahead. We are builders, contractors, engineers, workers, but above all, we are progress enablers because we contribute to society's progress. OHLA! OHLA, future. OHLA, progress. OHLA, sustainability. We've been working hard to build the world we want to live in. For more than 110 years, we've made iconic buildings which now form part of our day-to-day. We're now undergoing a change to adapt to the present times, and to leave an everlasting footprint from the work we do.
In this forever-changing world, our team shares the dream: to contribute to progress with resilient and long-lasting buildings that improve people's lives and make the world a better place. In this dream, which we stand for with excitement, we see opportunities for everyone. Thanks to our talented team and innovative culture, and a firm commitment to economic, social, and environmental sustainability, we know we can face all of the challenges ahead. We're builders, contractors, engineers, workers.
Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks so much for being here. Let's begin with the Q&A session. Please allow me first to address you. Apart from saying thanks, we have Tomás with Víctor Pastor, as announced. If there are any questions remaining, we'll respond to them very kindly from the Investors Relations department. We're getting quite a few questions by email and also on the app, now that you're registered. Tomás, let me ask you the questions. We've had a recurring question during the presentation, which was: When does OHLA expect to go back to dividends, and whether it is included in the company guidance?
Regarding this topic, I'd say that, of course, for any company, one of the main targets is to give out dividends to their shareholders. In our roadmap, this target needs to go through other stations first. We've been working for that, our debt reduction effort is geared towards that. As the president said, we're going to keep working in reducing that debt, but obviously, the aim is to go back to the dividend payout. Possibly, we might not see this, not this year, but it's our target for the next year, for 2027. Thank you.
I'm gonna combine a few questions we're getting regarding a litigation that was pending but favorable to us, which was the recovery of the debt with the Grupo Villar Mir, that has been quite repetitive. I think we got that question nine or 10 times. Regarding that topic, I'll just highlight that just like any other OHLA debt, we act very rigorously to get the recovery, as we have seen in more relevant litigations regarding the amounts. Sometimes we're successful in the recovery.
In the case of that specific debt, the tranche of that pending debt, which is not all of the debt, is now in the process of recovery, that may materialize in the next few months. We depend on the times of the judiciary power there. There's another question regarding the litigations. For the rest of pending litigations, when do we expect them to be recovered so that they materialize in the cash flow of the company?
This varies depending on the litigation we're talking about. In some areas, sometimes there are some additional complications. In the specific case of litigations such as Doha, and once we have met our obligations in that country, in Qatar, where we have some with subcontractors, we will be able to have excess cash flow, and possibly in the first quarter, the first five months of this year. Thank you.
We have a general strategic question that has been repeated in different terms, and I'll try to sum it up. Hinting to us a strong growth in the last quarter and a progressive improvement of results throughout the year, will that be kept? We have a guidance of EUR 215. Is that aggressive? Is it not? How do we see it?
Well, in our guidance, we always try to be conservative, and at the same time, we try to confirm our full compliance record for the things we commit to. That's why we say it will possibly be above EUR 250 million, but we should not forget that in this year's results, in the last year's results, we first see the effort of the construction division with a year with excellent results. We also have some extraordinary impacts.
If we take into account the net balance of positive and negative elements, because we have also had some extraordinary negative elements, like any company in this industry, maybe talking about an amount between EUR 20 million and EUR 25 million. Therefore, the target is to be above EUR 250 million of EBITDA, but we might be able to exceed that. Thank you.
We have some questions regarding the balance sheet, regarding the factoring without the possibility of recourse to company. You have it in the balance sheet part, is being nearly the same figure as in 2024, EUR 101 million. Then we have other questions regarding debt management. Basically, how are we going to keep reducing the leveraging of 2026, which was the target announced in the presentation, and whether that's related specifically to the bonds?
Well, the main debt, not to mention the only debt of this company, are bonds. As people know, we had important refinancing that finished last year, giving us a stability horizon up to 2029. Despite that, as the president mentioned it, our way is to keep reducing the amount of these bonds, the amount of debt. We are working to rotate non-strategic assets, and we'll keep doing so that we may reduce this debt. Once this happens, we'll be able to look for refinancing in even more convenient terms for the company. I don't know whether Víctor might like to add anything.
Good day, everyone. Maybe just add that in that debt, there is a penalty clause, quite damaging for the company, until August this year. If we take into account that rotation that Tomás has mentioned, and the fact that until August, that clause might entail a big payout by the company. Right now, we are working on the two fronts: asset rotation on the one hand, to reduce debt, and other alternatives with a different debt profile in different markets. With the base and the credit profile of the company, should be able to reduce the financial cost of that debt, which is quite costly and keeps increasing as years go by. That's our strategy.
Thank you. Next, we have two questions. The first one is: Which work is being done with the banking pool, with different banks, and whether we see any possibility of increasing the capacity of the guarantees? Well, I'll allow Víctor to complement this question, but the work with the financial and banking community is permanent.
As proof of that, this year, just in this very month of February, that is just finished, at the beginning of the month, we closed the extension of the main line of guarantees in Spain with the FSM, in terms even more favorable than we had for yet another year. We keep working individually with different banks to extend it. The important growth of the portfolio in the last five- years, that has been nearly 80%, wouldn't have been possible if we didn't have a strong support of these guarantees. Not just the banking guarantees, but also the surety policies that we use in certain geographies and for some customers, as well as the North American insurers, the bonding companies, with whom we have around EUR 3 billion in guarantees. Víctor, maybe you would like to complement on this. Sure. Thank you, Tomás.
Just to extend on this is constant work by the financial management area. First, I should say, the beginning of this month of February, we extended the so-called FSM line with the banking pool we currently have for yet another year. Sometimes there is specific focus in Spain, like this year, and it's pretty obvious that the company has a lot of business also internationally. We have a strong subsidiary in the USA, another one operating in the Czech Republic, another important business, as mentioned in the presentation, Latin America. Besides working, extending the capacity with Spanish institutions, which is being done since the Fitch rating increase, and also after these results, that hopefully will allow us to have greater capacity with Spanish institutions.
For example, in 2025, in the Czech Republic, we have extended our lines with European, Austrian, and German banks in guarantee lines for up to nearly EUR 50 million. In the USA, this was extended with American banks up to nearly EUR 80 million. We also have bilateral agreements in Latin America, where we have increased our credit lines. In general, our capacity between banking guarantees and surety policies is nearly EUR 5 billion in the group. Which really makes a lot of sense, because otherwise, we'll be unable to run yearly projects for those EUR 4.1 billion and having that other portfolio, EUR 4.9 billion. We keep working, and we also have increased our possibilities and our capacity in 2025, and the financial community confidence keeps increasing, and it has allowed us to keep working on all this capacity that I just mentioned.
Thank you, Victor. We have some repeat questions regarding the non-strategic assets, defined as such. Mainly in the Servicios and Canalejas divisions. In Canalejas, there's another sub-reply asking whether the agreement reached would change the perspectives of sale or the sharing prices that we had regarding the management of that asset.
Well, first of all, the elimination of the uncertainty regarding the Canalejas asset, since the relationship we had with our partner generated certain complexity in managing this asset. That has eased to now have more control, availability on the OHLA asset, that will be possible in time to give more value to the asset of the gallery, and the Canalejas park inside. We might be able to unlink it. It will not be immediate, that maturity process of the asset may take a few months.
Regarding the services, we've gone through these unlinkage process before. Now we are giving value to the company and we'll keep doing so. Paying attention to that unlinking process if there is a offer corresponding to the value of the company.
Thank you, Thomas. We just have two questions. I think we've replied to all of them. There may be some other specific ones regarding the balance sheet. I will answer directly to the banks that are asking and the analysts.
There's a question concerning the news that we have seen in some local newspapers in Latin America, concerning our forecast and forecasted activities in some specific Latin American countries, and more specifically in Chile. The question is: What do we have to say? Do we have any comments on these pieces of news, and what's our perspective in the country?
Well, Chile is one of the natural markets of the company. We've been working there for over 40 years. All the book has increased. Our track record is absolutely spotless, and this is why I was asking what the question was exactly.
In the short, in the last few years, we have faced two situations: The concession of Biobío, this was arbitrated negotiation with the client, with the Ministry of Public Works, to improve the terms of our contract. There were some delays when starting these works because we were lacking some permits. This is a highly technically complex project, because this is about building four different hospitals in four different locations in one specific portion of the country, in the Biobío region, which makes implementation very difficult. These are delays that are non-attributable to the company, but rather to the lack of permits.
The execution was delayed, as I was saying, but we have reached an agreement with the Chilean Government, and we will move forward with this important award and the building of these 4 hospitals. There was another piece of news recently, and I don't know if that's the one that people are asking about, which is related to a small subsidiary that we have in Chile. This is a subsidiary that is hardly in operation. It was within the industrial, our industrial division, and it has lost traction and content in the last few years because it was in charge of projects that we're not really working on anymore. We decided to wind it down in our petition.
This is a normal, this is normal process, and it will be continued in the next few weeks, but it doesn't imply, as some newspapers wrongfully said, that we are going to cease having a presence in that country.
Now, another specific question concerning. The question says: The severe deterioration of our industrial division in this year, what are our perspectives for 2026 and further in the future?
Yeah, the industrial division had a complex situation this year for different reasons. First of all, because the renewable energies market, which is our specialization in this division, is facing in some locations, specifically in Spain, saturation process. Maybe if it's not saturation, at least a decrease in growth, which at the same time meant that projects were being slowed.
We, at the same time, have started penetrating other markets, specifically in Latin America, and we will see a rebirth of these activities for 2026. We hope we will outperform the situation in 2025. This was a situation which was due to market and company circumstances, and the situation of the different locations. We are moving forward with this and in other locations.
Okay, and we have one last question, because we haven't received any more, and if we receive any further questions, then they will be answered by our department. What sunk cost has this overhead reduction plan had, and what were they, more specifically? Yeah. So far, some costs were about EUR 10 million-EUR 11 million, and they are mostly related to some layoffs that we had to do.
These were very specific layoffs, not generalized layoffs, where we are trying to eliminate redundancies and to, as I was saying in my presentation, do more with less, because this is, at the end of the day, what we will do to improve the results of the company.
Okay. We just had another question. This is a very generic question, but at the same time, it's very specific, and it's, "Thomas, where do you think the company value or the objective price should lay?"
Well, this is a question for which we could have many answers, but in our opinion, our stocks are undervalued because we are starting to see some value more clearly. But if we add up the assets of the company, I think everyone could reach that conclusion.
I don't want to commit to a number, absolutely, but I think the reality will show what it is, and that our share price will reach the position that we think it should have. Thank you very much, and I would just like to reiterate that this presentation will be recorded and available for one week, and it will be available as soon as possible, and we are at your disposal. Thank you very much. Thomas, I don't know if you'd like to say a few more words.
No, just thank you very much for your attention. Thank you very much. Victor? Same. Thank you very much to everyone. Thank you for joining us.