(Reuters) – Eiffage reported first-quarter revenue up 13.1% on Wednesday, citing strong results from its motorway concessions and rising orders.

The French construction and concessions group achieved a turnover of 4.9 billion euros in the first quarter of 2023 and recorded a 15% increase in its order book.

Strikes and transport disruptions in France have had a positive impact on the business, as travelers have been forced to return to the highways for lack of a better alternative, Jefferies said in a research note, which has mitigated the potentially negative impact of rising fuel prices.

APRR, France’s second-largest motorway operator by revenue, and a subsidiary of the Eiffage group, announced a 5% year-on-year increase in toll revenue in its first quarter results.

Overall traffic on Eiffage’s motorway concessions, measured in kilometers travelled, was up 1.8% at the end of March compared to the previous year.

Eiffage confirmed its outlook for the whole of 2023, specifying that it anticipates a further increase in its current operating profit in its order book and concessions.

The group has been the main shareholder of Getlink, the Channel Tunnel concession company, since October 2022. If it does not consider a takeover bid, it could further increase its stake, he said.

Pending shareholder approval, Eiffage CEO Benoit de Ruffray joined Getlink’s board of directors on April 27, and the investment will be included in the group’s attributable net income from the second quarter.

Getlink more than doubled its revenue in the first quarter, driven by its new Eleclink unit, an undersea cable transferring electricity between France and the UK.

(Report Victor Goury-Laffont in Gdansk, Gaëlle Sheehan, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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