OHLA - Comments

OHLA stock has continued to rise on improved performance and the settlement of one of its long-standing legal claims.  The amount paid by the Madrid Municipality at the end of December to settle the disputed Cemonosa rail project was in line with the €123m claim in the books of OHLA before its restructuring. An eventual settlement to pay for work completed was always likely as the project was abandoned in 2010 due to budgetary issues in Spain, compounded by allegations of political corruption (not involving OHLA). With €39.1m of interest due added, the total payment will be €162m (plus €25m VAT). This is useful liquidity for OHLA and will allow management to refocus on the future of the company. The original project was a €360m commuter train link to connect Mostoles and Navalcanero. Currently, there are no contracts being prepared to re-open and finish the project. The equity has now risen from €0.80 at the beginning of December to €1.11 today.