With 9 in 10 journeys made by road in France, traffic on the VINCI Autoroutes network returned to pre-Covid levels as soon as travel restrictions were relaxed. VINCI Autoroutes has stepped up the deployment of its new environmental ambition, which is principally intended to slash the carbon footprint of road travel, and is working closely with its regional partners and motorway users towards this goal.
Economic data
● TRAFFIC AND REVENUE
Despite the impact of the health crisis, traffic on the VINCI Autoroutes network remained high in 2021, confirming how essential road travel is to the national economy. Heavy vehicle traffic remained robust throughout the year (up 10.2%) buoyed by healthy economic activity and the growth of e-commerce. It exceeded 2019 levels by 3.1%. Light vehicle traffic grew by 24.4% and was just 5.3% short of 2019 levels. It was hard hit by government travel restrictions in the first half, but recovered rapidly as soon as they were lifted, even exceeding pre-Covid levels during the summer. The recovery continued into the second half.
The A7 motorway in south-east France. As from the summer, traffic on the VINCI Autoroutes network exceeded pre-Covid levels.
Widening work on the A10 south of Tours funded by the motorway stimulus plan.
In these conditions, revenue grew 20.3% to €5.6 billion, almost returning to 2019 levels (decline of 0.8%).
● INVESTMENT AND DEBT
Investment remained high at nearly €700 million. It mostly concerned road widening, upgrades and environmental performance improvements to existing networks under the motorway stimulus plan and motorway investment plan. A growing share of investment is devoted to implementing VINCI Autoroutes’ environmental policy (see page 46) and maintaining road surfaces and infrastructure.
The fact that concessions – which account for 40% the Group’s capital employed – have a stable contractual framework enables long-term investment and financing. At 31 December 2021, the net financial debt of VINCI Autoroutes’ companies amounted to €18.0 billion.
Infrastructure
● WESTERN STRASBOURG BYPASS
The year was marked by the completion and commissioning of the A355 – France’s largest motorway project in several years – on 17 December 2021. Concession company Arcos, a VINCI Autoroutes subsidiary, financed the entire project for a total of €561 million and will be responsible for operating and maintaining this new motorway until 2070.
The construction of the A355 was managed by a consortium of VINCI companies working with local firms. A total of 6,000 people were involved, clocking up 3 million hours of work, 10% of which concerned vocational integration schemes.