BAM Aktie

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Royal BAM Group Analyst Meeting. My name is Michel Aupers, Investor Relations Manager. I'm pleased to have you with us today. The meeting is hosted by our CEO, Ruud Joosten; and our CFO, Henri de Pater, who will take you through the key highlights of BAM's full year 2025 results. The presentation slides are available on our website. After their remarks, we will take your questions. I draw your attention to the disclaimer here. Ruud, over to you, please.

Thank you, Michel, and good morning all. On the front page, you see an image of one of our flood protection projects in the U.K. Along the Norfolk coastline, we replaced aging timber groynes with new rock groynes, significantly strengthening coastal defenses for our local communities and the Norfolk broads. We began this project in October '24 and successfully completed it in June '25. It's a good example of the impactful work we deliver to protect people, nature and vital infrastructure.

Let's start with the key points over 2025. The group has delivered a strong performance in 2025, reflecting the success of our strategy and our core strength in the energy transition, transportation and Dutch residential markets. First of all, our '25 results show a very solid top line development. Revenue increased by 9% to more than EUR 7 billion with consistent disciplined growth across both divisions. This underlines the strength and focus of our current portfolio and the progress we have made. We also delivered a substantial improvement in our adjusted EBITDA margin, increasing from 5.2% a year ago to 5.7%. This reflects our disciplined execution and our continued efforts to further lower our risk profile and drive profitable growth.

In 2025, our reported adjusted EBITDA increased by 20% to EUR 400 million. And we're also proud to present a net result of EUR 211 million, a strong increase compared to the last year. All our activities contributed strongly this year, demonstrating the resilience and effectiveness of our business model. We also continue to make solid progress on our legacy projects. In 2025, we handed over the final school project in Denmark, completed the Co-op Live arena in the United Kingdom and saw the successful opening of the Silvertown Tunnel in London. In December, we started handing over the first section of the new children hospital.

These milestones mark an important step in closing out our legacy portfolio and further strengthening the foundation of our company. Regarding the Fehmarnbelt tunnel project in which BAM holds a 12.2% stake, the consortium continued to engage in constructive dialogue with the clients. We expect to emerge the first tunnel element in the first half of this year. Our other key performance indicators also remained solid. We maintained a strong financial position by focusing on projects with an attractive risk/reward balance, along with effective cost and working capital management. This has resulted in a robust solvency and further strengthening of our cash position. It's good to see that our order book was maintained at a high level of EUR 13 billion.

A substantial part of our recent project wins aligns with our strategic objective to expand in sustainable solutions while we remain focused on the quality of our order intake. Continuing to strengthen our safety culture remains a key priority. We made further progress in embedding our group-wide safety program, and we continue to invest in development of our people to ensure BAM remains an employer of choice.

Finally, our leadership in sustainability was reaffirmed once again. We received the prestigious CDP Climate A rating for the seventh consecutive time, underscoring the consistent efforts to mitigate climate change and our long-term commitment to responsible business.

Looking ahead, for 2026, BAM expects to deliver further growth in revenue and adjusted EBITDA. With that in mind, let's continue to the next slide, where I will highlight how our solid performance translated into meaningful shareholder remuneration. We intend to distribute circa 55% of our net income to shareholders. We are proposing a dividend of EUR 0.30 per share over 2025. This represents a 20% increase compared to the EUR 0.25 paid over 2024. We will supplement this dividend with a EUR 40 million share buyback. This program is supported by our strong operational performance and solid cash position. Share buybacks executed since 2023 have already reduced the number of shares entitled to dividend by almost 7% at year-end 2025. Taken together, BAM will return EUR 357 million to shareholders in the period 2023, 2026. This demonstrates the disciplined execution of our capital allocation framework and our clear commitment to sustainable value creation. Looking beyond '26, further share buybacks will depend on our balance sheet structure and the strategic opportunities available to us. We will continue to take a disciplined value-driven approach that supports both our long-term strategy and attractive shareholder returns.

Now let's look at the performance of our 2 divisions. Hart van de Waalsprong is the sustainable and vibrant new city center of Nijmegen North, a place where homes, shops, workplaces and green public spaces come together. You will also find there the first energy-neutral shopping center in the Netherlands. Together with our co-developer, we delivered there 524 homes, nearly 12,000 square meters of commercial space, 2 parking garages and a high-quality public realm. The project was completed in 2025.

In the Netherlands, we delivered a strong performance. Revenue increased by 8%, and our adjusted EBITDA rose sharply from EUR 161 million to EUR 250 million, reflecting a solid margin of 7.2%. This improvement was driven by the high activity level in nonresidential construction and our civil engineering operations in the Netherlands also continued to deliver strong results, and we saw excellent momentum in our housing activities. Home sales increased by 27% to 2,354 units, supported by several larger transactions with institutional investors. Overall, these results highlight the strength and resilience of our Dutch platform.

Let me take you through our Dutch residential property development portfolio, where we are seeing promising traction and clear opportunities for further growth. In 2025, we invested significantly in expanding the development pipeline of our Dutch residential property activities, which now comprises around 30,000 homes. We secured an attractive development pipeline for the next years, and we reinforced our position as one of the leading residential developers in the Netherlands.

During the year, we added approximately 5,500 homes to our portfolio. This included strategic positions in [indiscernible] and Amsterdam. With the acquisition of Gebroeders Blokland, we strengthened our portfolio of land positions and residential projects across South Holland, Utrecht, [indiscernible]. This portfolio includes land and building rights for roughly 2,400 suburban homes. Together, we can accelerate the joint sales, expand our combined network and optimize our project pipelines. We also see an increasing focus on large-scale area development. In 2025, the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning together with local authorities and market partners identified 24 breakthrough locations where construction can be accelerated, representing a potential of 150,000 new homes. Our strategic positions in or near many of these areas allow us to contribute meaningfully to faster housing delivery. In 2025, our total investment in Dutch property developed increased by circa EUR 100 million to EUR 640 million.

Moving on to the U.K. division, U.K. and Ireland, I have to say. In Waterford, Ireland, we are delivering a 207-meter sustainable transport bridge, a key element of the North Quay public infrastructure project. This low-carbon pedestrian and cyclist focused crossing will connect the city center with the North Quays district and support Ireland's largest urban regeneration program. Designed with an opening span for river traffic and built using reduced carbon materials, the bridge reflects our commitment to sustainable future-focused infrastructure.

In the U.K. and Ireland, we also delivered an excellent performance. Revenue increased by 10%, and the division achieved a substantial improvement in profitability with adjusted EBITDA rising to EUR 160 million. This is an increase of 40% compared to last year, and it translates into a margin of 4.7%. I'm particularly pleased that Construction U.K. returned to profitability. This reflects a disciplined project selection and solid operational execution. An important milestone was the finalization of Co-op Live, one of the most significant and complex venues delivered in the U.K. in recent years. Our civil engineering activities in the U.K. and our activities in Ireland continue to perform robustly even compared to the particularly strong year 2024.

Now Henri will elaborate on the financials.

Thank you, Ruud, and good morning, everyone. What you see on this slide is one of our key contributions to the future of the Dutch energy system, the new high-voltage connection between Borssele and Rilland. This project sits within our EUR 367 million multiyear framework agreement with TenneT. It's a strategic investment aimed at strengthening and expanding the national electricity grid, ensuring it can support a steadily increasing integration of sustainable energy. It underscores our disciplined execution, our leadership in the energy transition and our enduring partnership with TenneT in developing a more resilient and future-ready network. As Ruud has already said, we are reporting a strong adjusted EBITDA result of EUR 400 million. And in addition to this strong result, it's also worth pointing out our strong order book of EUR 13 billion and a further improvement in our solvency, in line with our expectations. We are showing a strong cash position of EUR 0.9 billion, which is an improvement of EUR 120 million compared to a year ago. These strong results have been achieved through solid performance across all our activities and confirm that we are effectively executing our strategy.

Let's zoom in on some details of our income statement. Our total turnover has increased by 9% and it's very encouraging to see that both divisions and Belgium are contributing to the top line growth, which has been achieved largely organically. Comparing our results with last year, we see an EBITDA growth of 20%. This improvement is not only based on growth in revenue, but also shows even more clearly that we are benefiting from a strong margin, in line with our strategic principles. The divestment of our remaining stake in Invesis, which was formally completed on the 25th of March last year, had no further impact on the results in 2025. Our depreciation and amortization amounted to EUR 158 million. This represents an increase compared to last year, which can be explained by our ongoing investments in sustainable modular solutions, including the further electrification of our plant and equipment and is fully in line with our plans. Our financial result improved slightly compared to the year ago, showing a result of more than EUR 10 million. And this is mainly due to a lower-than-expected interest cost in the property business, our strong cash position and the payment agreements related to the Invesis divestment. The adjusted items in the income statement related to reorganization costs, positively offset by the reversal of impairments within our property business.

The tax charge amounts to EUR 38 million. This represents a tax rate of 15%, which reflects the recognition of additional tax losses to be used in the next 5 years to offset Netherlands profits. The strong result in 2025 also indicates that going forward, tax rate will gradually increase. The bottom line shows a delivered net result of EUR 211 million, which translates into earnings per share of EUR 0.81, a substantial improvement with regard to the EUR 0.31 a year ago.

Let's take a look at the cash flow statement together. Our strong operating results translate into a strong cash flow of EUR 354 million. We can see that the cash flow from our working capital is slightly negative, noting that this amount includes a net investment of EUR 55 million related to investments in property. This amount is lower than the EUR 90 million we reported in the first half of this year, which can be easily explained by the higher number of transports of sold homes in the second half of this year. It goes without saying that we are very pleased with the development of our trade working capital efficiency over the past year. This percentage has improved slightly, but is now stable for the second year in a row. The net cash flow from our investment activities was limited to EUR 4 million. And the most important elements are investments in our CapEx in line with our plans of EUR 83 million, payments received in the amount of EUR 108 million relating to the Invesis divestment and the payment for our previously announced purchase of WL Winet.

Next, it's good to look at the cash flow related to financing activities, which amounts to EUR 198 million. This amount consists of the payment of our dividends amounting to EUR 66 million, the purchase of shares amounting to EUR 50 million and the remaining part related to leases and a small increase in property funding. It can be concluded that our total cash position has increased by EUR 120 million over the past year to the previously mentioned strong level of EUR 0.9 billion.

Let's now look at our financial position. As you can see, our net cash position after loans and lease obligations is EUR 501 million, which is an improvement of EUR 61 million compared to last year. We have just explained a slight improvement in our trade working capital, which means that we are now looking at shareholders' equity, which has increased by EUR 62 million compared to a year ago. The explanation for this is as follows: We have earned a net income of EUR 211 million. We had a negative effect of EUR 24 million related to the exchange rate. And as explained earlier, we paid a total of EUR 160 million in dividends and share buyback, and we have an effect related to the post-employment benefit obligations.

Next, it's good to look at solvency, which has been further strengthened compared to last year. And finally, we can also see on this slide that our return on average capital employed has increased. This is a positive result that demonstrates strong financial effectiveness. Now back to you, Ruud.

Thank you, Henri. I would like to conclude with the market trends and our outlook for the full year '26. Here, we show you a photo of Deleers in Belgium. At Project Deleers in Anderlecht, we are creating a modern vibrant district that brings living, working and learning together in one integrated development. BAM Kairos as developer and BAM Interbuild together with partners delivered a state-of-the-art school campus and childcare facilities. This project reflects our capability to shape inclusive communities and deliver long-term value for the city and its residents. We are pleased with the developments of our order book, which has maintained at a high level of EUR 13 billion. This while we continue to focus strongly on order book quality and selective tendering in key markets where we have a proven competitive advantage.

Now over to the market trends. In the Netherlands, the residential market remained strong, driven by stable consumer confidence. The nonresidential market is cautiously optimistic, specifically in the education and office sector. In Civil, there are many attractive growth opportunities driven by the energy transition and the transport market. There remains a strong rationale for essential investment in energy transition, infrastructure, defense and sustainable and affordable homes. The Dutch coalition agreement, Aan de slag or Getting to Work, creates opportunities to move forward such as building faster, increasing grid capacity and improving our roads, bridges and [indiscernible]. We also see opportunities in it to achieve the goal to build 100,000 homes per year, but it does require decisiveness, clear choices, collaboration and investment. The construction market in the United Kingdom is expected to strengthen, supported by the government's continued focus on energy security. The government's 10-year infrastructure plan is ambitious and defense investment is also set to increase. The recently approved U.K. planning and infrastructure bill has the potential to accelerate approvals for major projects.

In London, commercial planning activity is rising with growing emphasis on retrofit developments. In Ireland, the EUR 275 billion national development plan is expected to provide a significant boost to the construction sector. Delivering complex infrastructure projects and new homes are essential for creating thriving communities. But this requires stability, clear planning and commitment beyond short-term political agendas.

Now over to the outlook for the full year. We continue our disciplined contract and risk management approach, which is a fundamental priority with our strategy to enhance our financial performance and predictability. For 2025, BAM expects to deliver further growth in revenue and adjusted EBITDA.

Thank you for your time. We are proud of the set of results we've just presented to you. In our view, these numbers emphasis that our strategy, focus, reform and expand is paying off. Now let's go to your questions.

Firstly, let me address the loss I do see in your German, Belgium and international business units. You mentioned that U.K., Ireland, Belgium did well. So it seems that you still booked a loss in Germany or international. So could you share some additional information about this EUR 9 million EBITDA loss?

Yes, that is true. That line is kind of a combination of the Belgium result and some legacy items we still need to solve. In this case, one of the 2 legacy items we still had in Germany that was settled not so long ago during the year. And yes, that balances that out with the, let's say, the positive result in Belgium.

Okay. Secondly, you made a nice improvement in the Netherlands and the U.K. There's not a Dutch construction company listed in the Netherlands making an EBITDA margin more than you do in the Netherlands. Is that something you -- is it a targeted margin for you? Is it realistic for you to also generate such a profitability? U.K. is a different story, different structure. But if I just look at your Dutch operations versus those of the Rosmalen base one, is there a major difference why you could not or should generate a similar margin?

Of course, I fully respect our competitors, including our friends from Rosmalen, but it's not up to me to discuss their results. Of course, I'm here today to discuss the BAM results. Of course, we try to improve margins. We also try to improve revenues. It's also in the outlook for this year. We see good development of the financials of the Dutch division. And of course, it's very difficult to compare the exact mix of activities with the different companies. So that's maybe a game I'm not going to play. So I look at the individual, let's say, segments of our business and try to maximize results there. I see a lot of opportunity to increase revenue and to look at profitability. Of course, this year, we also had a good growth in revenue. So that's also the balancing act of looking for attractive projects with higher margins and lower risk. So that's a balancing act we are playing. I'm really happy with the 2025 results because we saw this organic growth in the division with improvement of the margin. And of course, we are aiming further margin improvement going forward also for the Dutch division. Also one of the reasons why we invest heavily in property. In the last year's financials, you see a big increase in investment in property, normally leading also to a higher margin in the balance. But there are a few thoughts, I think, on looking at our margin.

You sold much more homes than what you indicated because you expected more or less -- the guidance was more or less flat, but you clearly beat that number. Has home sales been brought forward into this year? And are you also willing to provide a guidance for what you expect for this year, excluding this Blokland acquisition?

Yes. Of course, also selling of homes is kind of a mixed bag of homes over the year. You have the -- that's more, let's say, out of the city homes, family homes, but you also have a lot of -- and that's getting more important in the Dutch market, apartments, smaller apartments as well. And you saw that in the last part of the year, our sales numbers were heavily impacted by some deals with investors, a few bigger deals that gave a real push to the number of homes in the last quarter, especially. So no, we brought nothing forward. That are deals that are developed over a longer period and then they appear at the moment -- in this case, at the end of the year, pushing the end of the year. And then that leads to a big increase, can be a few deals that can make a difference of hundreds of homes. So we are very happy with the development. More importantly, of course, we are investing strongly in property to have a structural increase of our home sales for the next years. The Blockland acquisition was important in that sense as well, leading to approximately 200 additional homes a year. So looking for these kind of opportunities is important to have a structural increase of the number of home sales.

And then lastly, for the moment, I think this one is for you, Henri. We do see depreciation edging up quite a bit lately. It has not so much to do with your capital expenditure in tangible and intangible assets, but much more to the lease liabilities. So could you provide some guidance for this year, what we should expect for CapEx and lease liabilities and depreciation.

Yes. If you're talking about the depreciation, indeed, as you compare it to a year ago, an increase, but it was also based upon temporary site accommodations, which were required by the client and causing a higher depreciation and a specific element in our energy sector. We are expecting for 2026, you're talking about CapEx more or less similar numbers like we are now reporting for 2025 and the same for [indiscernible] as well.

Martijn den Drijver, ABN AMRO. I would like to start off, as I usually do with the guidance. You mentioned in the press release, earnings visibility continues to improve, solid high-quality bidding pipeline, continued discipline. If I take out the claim settlements in Germany, your EBITDA margin was closer to 6% than the reported 5.7%. So I was wondering what is keeping you from providing an update on your medium-term targets? Is that the usual under-promise, over-deliver bump strategy? Or are there other elements at play?

No, that is clearly part of it. We like to be very predictable in that sense on how we communicate, especially at the beginning of the year. So normally, in this meeting, we are always a bit cautious on giving an outlook for the whole year. And then during the year, based on performance, we will give you more detail in the outlook. That's what we do every year. And in that sense, we like to be predictable going forward. On the other hand, indeed, we are in the last year of a 3-year strategic cycle where we promised the market a 4% to 6% margin window and more than EUR 6 billion company.

In 2025, we delivered already EUR 7 billion and almost 6%. So that brings us into the situation where we have to rethink strategy going forward. And that's what we are doing now. So probably by the end of the year, early '26, there will be a new strategic window announced to the market with our new strategic financial targets for the market as well, including capital allocation strategy for the years to come. So we try to keep -- to stick to that kind of rhythm every 3-year, let's say, an updated strategy. Of course, we're happy to see that we already touched our targets in 2025, but it's no reason now to jump to conclusions. For this year, we are rethinking our strategy. It is working over the last couple of years with big improvement. Also happy to see that our shareholders are profiting from that too with the biggest increase, the most successful share in the mid-cap last year. I think they are seeing that this strategy is working. And of course, we try to, in that sense, under-promise and over-deliver again also for the next phase of the strategy. But we're doing our homework for that right now.

Got it. Then my second question is on BAM Construct U.K. Would you be willing to share -- if you take out the facility management part and the property development part, but roughly, you can use ranges if you like, on how that unit has performed in 2025 relative to 2024 just so we can get a bit more clarity there.

Yes. So back in the days of the first half of 2025, we already achieved a positive result in that Construct U.K. arena. In the second half of 2025, it improved further. And if you take out the revenue related to facility management and also the EBITDA part of that, then the difference is roughly 0.2%. That means that Construct U.K. on its own is already delivering a very strong result, and we are expecting a further improvement in 2026 as well.

That is indeed a strong performance. And just one follow-up, a tiny one on [indiscernible] question. I think this settlement in Germany was the final one, right? With this settlement, the whole BAM Germany warranty element is gone?

There were 2 settlements. First of all, it was related to an old project like we discussed and also explained in the first half of 2025. And the second one was indeed related to BAM Deutschland entity, and that was the so-called SPA share result mechanism together with the buyer. And then there is still a receivable in our balance sheet, which is also explained and disclosed in our annual report, which we are discussing with the customer from -- back in the days in terms to solve that topic as well.

Got it. Okay. And then on the Civil U.K. performance, maybe we've gotten a little bit too enthusiastic. But I was wondering if you could clarify why the EBITDA margin actually performed the way it did. The U.K. civil engineering market is quite buoyant, but yet the EBITDA margin declined year-on-year. Can you explain that to us? What happened there?

Yes, I can start and maybe you can help me [indiscernible] of projects [indiscernible] projects.

Sorry for that. I was just saying it has to do with the phasing of big projects. In '24, we had some finalization in the mix more than in '25 where we started up some of these bigger projects. And then you can see that in the finalization of a project, normally the margin goes up. And in the beginning, there's a more conservative look at these projects. So in the mix, it looks like a negative development, which is absolutely not true because we see in the order book going forward an increase in margin for these projects. But that's how we, in IFRS used to, let's say, estimate these results of these projects. I see fantastic revenue growth over the last 3, 4 years. I think it doubled the business almost, the Civil engineering U.K. So it's a star performer in the group. But I think that's a bit the explanation. But Henri, I'm looking to you as well...

That's the complete story indeed. I'm really pleased also with the developments over there as well. And the difference between 2024 and 2025 is roughly EUR 10 billion. On that high level of revenue, that's quite normal and normal pattern also in this business.

Got it. And then one question on industrialization, BAM -- BAM Flow. First part of that question is, did it contribute positively to EBITDA in 2025? And my second question is, how should we think about that activity going forward?

Yes. I think in all honesty, that is still a development, let's say, part of the strategy. We started up the factory late '24, I think. So we were really in the market in '25 for the first time with, let's say, real homes. So it's not an EBITDA contributor at this moment in time. That will take probably this year to get to that kind of numbers. You need to, of course, also convince the market that these are fantastic homes to live in. We have now several people living in these homes, and they're pretty excited about it. But it takes some time in a country where people are very much used to concrete and stone houses. Of course, you need to take some time to change that kind of conservative issue, if you can call it like that, attitude towards these houses. We are convinced that these houses are, let's say, more convenient to live in from an atmosphere point of view. But it takes some time. And it's not, let's say, financially a big issue. Of course, we want to make it EBITDA plus as soon as possible.

But for the long term, it's really important to build these more sustainable homes that indeed take out CO2 from the air instead of emitting CO2 into the air. And yes, I think that is a big opportunity. And of course, we are not the only ones in the market to do that. And together, I think we will develop that culture in a positive way and get these homes in the market as soon as possible.

Just one short follow-up. Is there any other industrialization plan ongoing that we should be aware of?

Yes. I think it's a broader item in all construction. So also looking at nonresidential, you see that more and more, let's say, parts of the building are industrialized and coming from factories before they are installed into, for example, the new ABN AMRO office that you saw is coming, you see parts of that coming from suppliers from their factories directly. It also has to do with all kind of cables, for example, cable channels that come from factories, you don't see that, but it's all industrialized. It comes, let's say, ready-made into the building and is then installed. So this is a more broader development also in infrastructure, apart from only the wooden homes.

Simon Van Oppen, Kepler Cheuvreux. I have a follow-up question on Construct U.K., good development there. And you mentioned project selectivity. Could you please give some more color on what drove this strong development also in terms of project selectivity and how this is progressing into 2026?

Yes. Let's say, after the disappointing results earlier '23, '24, we decided to reshape the strategy for Construct U.K. cost-wise, but also strategy-wise, much more focused on, for example, education and health care in the U.K. going from midsized projects with now and then, let's say, a special in the commercial field. So that portfolio is now much more clear, way to go for. And luckily, the U.K. government is investing heavily in these frameworks as we call them, for health care and education, where we are, let's say, participating in for the long term. So it's partly looking for that new portfolio that gives us the trust and confidence that margins will go up in the near future. And it was also, let's say, finalizing some, let's say, legacy projects that we still had where Co-op Live, I think, was by far the most important one. Now that combination of profitable projects, cost drive and ending Co-op Live led to the performance in 2025. And you see indeed, like Henri is saying, an improvement in the second half of the year. So indeed, getting to a more normal profitability already in the second half. And we trust that, that will then increase in this year as well.

And could you share roughly how much education and health care within Construct U.K. makes up of that specific division or what you are targeting to achieve?

I don't think we have that percentage on hand. We have to look that up.

Yes. But I think it's mainly looking back education at this moment in time and some commercial wheels.

Leontien de Waal, ABN AMRO. A few questions from my side. First one is defense and energy security opportunities. You mentioned them both for U.K. and the Netherlands. Are there any difference in, I would say, margin perspective concerning those opportunities?

Difficult to say. I think the defense is probably a different segment than the energy security segment of our market. In Defense, it's also a very wide range of activities. I think there's still a lot of development to do to get that really developed by governments and bring it to the market. We're already doing some important jobs in the defense sector. For example, the new head office of the Belgium Army in Brussels near to the NATO building. We are building together with others. It is a EUR 350 million building. But it can also be -- indeed investment in infrastructure can also have now a defense kind of character as well. It can also be a hangar for planes. So it's a very wide range. It's also housing for soldiers, something that was neglected by governments for decades. And now we need huge investments to get that to, let's say, an acceptable level for people to live in. So margin-wise, of course, we will be very critical there as well and have, yes, let's say, the same kind of criteria for margin as for other projects. So I'm pretty positive there that especially when there is speed required, yes, then also we need to see, let's say, margins linked with that in our portfolio.

In the energy transition segment, yes, we see good margins because the parties, our customers there, they see how scarce our capabilities and skills are and are willing to come to realistic pricing if they can trust our delivery. And that's the same in the U.K. as in the Netherlands.

So there are no big differences in margin potential considering the 2 regions, no big differences.

No, I don't think so. I don't think so. I think it's the same. You see the same kind of project. It's very nice to see, for example, that National Grid, which is a kind of TenneT for the Dutch-speaking audience, comparing to TenneT in the Netherlands. Yes, we are doing for them the same project as we do for TenneT for National Grid. So for example, a land station, bringing energy from the sea, wind energy to consumers on land. So these projects are, let's say, copies of each other and very nice to see that now we brought these companies together with our teams to learn and to get some synergy from these projects. But I don't see a big difference in margins now.

Okay. Maybe to stick to grid congestion a bit. Concerning your property development portfolio in the Netherlands, how much of the development portfolio is impacted by grid congestion, especially as there's what was a huge message from TenneT last week concerning 3 provinces in the Netherlands and acute stop was communicated to happen maybe this summer, start of this summer. How does that affect your property development portfolio?

Well, I think it's a very valid point, that's one. We also have the nitrogen issue as well in the Netherlands. These are things that are not helping. In BAM, we see it like that, there could be a huge acceleration of homebuilding in the Netherlands if these things were not there. Everybody wants that acceleration. And of course, that would be very profitable for companies like BAM if that would happen. We are pushing and pulling and trying to drive this, let's say, decisiveness in provinces, in communities, but also on a national level to take these barriers out of the way. But it's a pretty complex game in solving nitrogen, solving the congestion. In solving congestion, of course, BAM can play a role. We are doing that in several regions.

But yes, again, it needs central direction, I think, to make this happen. So I don't see it as, let's say, a major issue for our actual numbers, but it would be very good, of course, for acceleration of our numbers. That's more, I think, how also, together with our partners in the market and our competitors in the market, we are looking at this. Yes, if you want to build more homes, you have to have some decisive action because you can talk about regions where you need acceleration or breakthrough areas or all kind of building 10 cities. But it's easy to say that. But to have the real central direction and government decisions to make it happen, including nitrogen, including congestion, including necessary infrastructure to these homes, yes, that takes a lot of different decision-making, I think. And that's over the last year is not happening in the Netherlands.

It's a complex issue. Could you give an indication how much -- which percentage of your property development portfolio is related to those provinces in the Netherlands who are impacted most at the moment?

Yes, that's difficult because indeed, you have the nitrogen issue, you have the congestion issue. Of course, we try to then balance that out. And if we see issues there with these 2 elements, we try to rebalance the portfolio into different directions to still deliver these kind of numbers. And until now that works out fine. For '26, that will work out fine. But yes, longer term, of course, these issues need to be solved. And of course, we are hoping that the new government will take a decisive action there as soon as possible. Ministers will be appointed on Monday, I think. So let's see what happens.

Last question from my side. You mentioned high activity level of nonresidential activities in the Netherlands, especially. In the outlook for 2026, you used the words cautiously, optimistic. Could you elaborate a bit on the nonresidential opportunities in the Netherlands? What kind of segments? Will it be new build? Will it be renovation?

Yes. You saw that over the last couple of years, it was very difficult to -- for the office market, for example, was really, really difficult, 0 activity or almost 0 activity. There, we see cautiously some activity coming back to the markets -- to the Dutch market anyhow, but also in London, we see the same issue, which is positive. So that's why we're cautiously optimistic about some investment also from institutional investors in nonresidential. Yes, in '25, we had a very good year based on a very good portfolio in the Netherlands. And we see some good wins there as well, for example, with De Sax, for example, in Rotterdam, which is also in nonresidential, but it is in a way residential as well because there are 900 apartments in that building. But also some other wins and some possible wins that we see in our agenda. We see a kind of positive development in 2026 for nonresidential as well in the Netherlands and in the U.K., indeed. Based on our participation in the frameworks, we're also having a very cautiously positive view on U.K. nonresidential.

Dirk Verbiesen,[indiscernible]. Question on the outlook and the property development in the Netherlands. Maybe, let's say, 2,000 houses sold in '25 was a bit of a normalized number. As you said, a few hundred were sold to investors in the later part of the year. Taking that as a base for '26 in your outlook, what do you expect in number of houses sold as an assumption in that? And also on average prices sold '25 versus '24? And what do you see in those trends -- in that trend looking at the project pipeline?

Yes, difficult indeed because these things are heavily impacted by the mix of homes and deals with investors that can make a difference of hundreds of homes. We're cautiously optimistic there as well, looking at you as well, Henri, for this year with the number reached over '25. Looking at developments over the next couple of months, I don't see a big difference there in prices of these homes in '26 as well. So there, I see still positive developments looking at pricing in the market. The number, yes, probably better to, after Q1, look at that and give you a better idea on that one. But yes, is it normalized? Strategy is anyhow to increase the number of home sales for BAM, and that's why we do the property investments. How it exactly will turn out in '26 for me, at this moment in time, I don't know.

No, indeed. So I think it's not needed to deduct all kind of one-offs from the sold houses in 2025. So we see it as a normal figure.

Okay. Maybe then on the energy transition, National Grid and TenneT. If you -- can you share what kind of revenues you are realizing in those, let's say, specific segments as it also looks very promising maybe for the next decade plus. What do you realize in those fields?

Yes. That's a really valid question. So if you are looking through the lenses of sustainability projects, roughly 15% of the revenue currently is related to those kind of topics. So we are moving much faster in that direction, which is really helpful, also taking into account that it's really profitable and helpful also to drive our EBITDA in the right direction as well.

And then on the legacy projects, you mentioned some specifics on the children hospital and sections being delivered to the customer in the coming weeks, I think, even. When is this project? Can you remind me when should it be fully completed and delivered?

Well, we mentioned first half of the year. So before summer, we need to deliver the whole hospital. We want to deliver the whole hospital. Sixth floor has been delivered to the customer, and that's really helpful because then they can fit it out with their beds, but also very high-tech equipment that are now, let's say, bringing into the hospital, which is really positive. They're very excited about the building. So it's pretty high quality, which is good to say, after many, many years of construction, the good news is indeed that handing over and commissioning is now in process. I think that's an important step.

And in financial terms, there was no negative impact anymore over the course of '25.

No, we settled. Maybe you remember there was a claim somewhere in 2024. The result at this moment in time is stable.

And then the Fehmarnbelt, yes, because it's such a recurring topic. Can you give some more details? You said, yes, we are in discussions. We have 12.2% in the consortium. First elements are completed or delivered. So where are you in this process on the construction side and also in the discussions with the client?

Yes. I think that's absolutely true. And I think we -- since a couple of years, we're pretty transparent on this legacy portfolio we still have from the past. So probably 5 years ago, we had something like 23 of these projects on the agenda. So we had long discussions with you guys all the time about these projects. This year, it's very important indeed like the new children -- National Children Hospital, I have to say, will be delivered to the customer. We have still the Brisbane project where we deliver a metro system to the city of Brisbane in Australia that will be delivered in Q -- well, let's say, first half year '27, I have to be careful. So also in the last phase of the project.

And then remaining is the famous Fehmarnbelt tunnel between Denmark and Germany, very complex, huge project. We have 12%, a little bit more. And indeed, like with all these big projects, yes, we are in constant discussion with the customer on how to proceed and how to look at the risks and how to look at the timing of the project. Today, we see the first immersion planned for first half year. So we are now preparing everything to make that happen together with local authorities. And I think that's a big moment. If that happens, that proves as well that this whole system can work. And then for the next 4 years, this will be part of this element or this project will be part of these meetings because there is something like 4 years planning to immerse all the 92 elements of the tunnel, resulting in an 18-kilometer tunnel between the 2 countries.

But let's say, on timing of -- so discussions with the clients on finding a solution within those 4 years? Or what should we expect for that?

Probably you will have these discussions throughout the whole project. Of course, what we try to do is to work together and get this as efficient as possible into the sea. But it's pretty complex and many, many elements are linked to this from a sustainability point of view, from a planning point of view. You have the German government. You have the Danish government. It's pretty complex. Not many tunnels like this were immersed in the world of this size. So I expect this to be, let's say, highly on my list of activity for the next 4 years.

Okay. And maybe to round up, in your order book of EUR 13 billion, what is the amount of the legacy portfolio?

Looking at U.S. [indiscernible] it's pretty small, I think...

Yes, pretty small. As I already said, Brisbane is mostly done. So if you're talking about the delivering of that metro, that's still about commissioning. So the construction work is done. So no big amounts left there. Yes, and then still a 12.2% stake related to FLC.

But you can't say in euro million terms, what is?

Not talking about...

I think far below the 10%...

Far below the 10%. And children's -- yes, Children's Hospital is also close to...

That building is already, as explained, complete. It's about commissioning. So the construction work is done. And phasing [indiscernible] hospital [indiscernible] journey. So you need more time to deliver all those stories. So also the remaining part in our order book is really limited.

Martijn den Drijver, ABN AMRO with a few follow-ups. Well, I guess some pretty specific questions. I'm going to continue a little bit on that front. Completion of the Children's Hospital and commissioning and transfer, should we read that as a final settlement is also quite near? Or can those discussions, mediation or perhaps even arbitration linger on, continue a bit longer than the official handover? How should we think about that?

Yes. So normalized such a case, you deliver the hospital and then there is a final moment in terms of building up your total documentation, your final account. Then we need to submit it to the client, and then there's at least 2 to 4 months discussion about the content and all those kind of stuff. And then still a question how to move forward. Do we have then a final settlement? Or is there still kind of a conciliation part of that process ongoing as well.

Okay. And taking that into account, that dialogue is still constructive. Now that completion is nearing that parties are taking perhaps a stricter stance given the...

It's always strict. There's quite [indiscernible] component part of it as well, but it's still constructive.

And then on the tunnel, I understand your cautiousness, Ruud. But the way I read it is that if you can immerse, the trench issue must have been solved. If you immerse, the client has accepted the installation vessel. So some of the hurdles must have been resolved up until a certain extent. That doesn't mean that the discussion about potential costs related to the delays have been resolved. But it seems as though things are moving in the right direction. Is that the right way to think about it? Or should we really be more cautious in...

Of course, I would wish to say yes to that question, but it's pretty complicated because the trench, of course, is also 18 kilometers. So of course, the immersion is now on the first element is, let's say, 200 meters. So there's still work to do also on the trench, I think, going forward. I don't think that's impossible to do, but I'm cautious because of, yes, technicalities are complex on that trench. And let's see what happens when we start to emerge more elements. But it's an important moment. I fully agree with you. Of course, if that works, then indeed, let's say, the system then proves it can work. That is important for all of us, I think.

I know that VINCI is the lead contractor within FLC. Are you as BAM consulted on every step on every discussion that you're having with [indiscernible] or even the Danish government?

Absolutely. I'm personally involved there, yes, to a large extent.

Moving on. On your trade working capital, if the proportion of nonresi is moving in the right direction and your infrastructure projects and the grid related is moving in the right direction, what would be a normal guidance then for trade working capital? I would assume that it actually becomes more negative.

First of all, we are really happy with the current status. [indiscernible] has already said that the fact that we are now stable for 2 years in a row and expecting for the upcoming period of roughly minus 12% as a kind of a proxy. And I think it's still a healthy number relating to this type of industry.

Okay. So no major movement at that level. Got it. And then my final question, I couldn't derive the actual amount of the restructuring charge. Was it a material amount in 2025, the restructuring charge?

Yes, a very small number.

Okay. Then I'm not even going to ask what it is about.

Neglectable.

[indiscernible] a follow-up from my side. You have signed a cooperation agreement with Rolls-Royce SMR for the U.K. and for the Netherlands. Why have you not signed an agreement, a global agreement to offer your services? And what has now become -- with Hochtief also joining this market arena, has it become a threat to you that they might take business outside of the Netherlands and the U.K.?

No. We have a very specific role in that group of companies. We deliver a patented structure that is necessary or that has the function of protecting the buildup of the reactor. And that's our contribution to this whole system, which then will be removed when the final structure is there. That's the only thing we do in this system, and that's why we were selected by Rolls-Royce to be part of this. So there will be other people involved in the total theme -- of set of things that are necessary to build a reactor like that. But we are the partner for that part of the construction.

Only for the U.K. and for the Netherlands? Or have you signed a new agreement that you will service them throughout Europe?

No, that's still not clear, to be honest. I think we are still in the phase of getting some evidence that this can work. So there are discussions on building a few of these reactors in the U.K. and some of them in Europe. But it's also a strategic decision we have to take further on for ourselves because we have a very clear strategy to focus on the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium. So any movement outside these regions will be an important decision we have to take.

I understand that, but this is really one specific product, which you build and then remove -- how would say, [indiscernible], but you can build up somewhere else in Europe as well. For example, in Czech Republic, you most likely will build the first one. To have a head start, I would presume that would be very attractive to service.

That is true. I think it's a repeatable model. But again, I think we are more focused now on getting these things on the road -- to show on the road, to say it maybe with some disrespect because these are nuclear reactors. This is not an easy product, of course. And I think it's really important to have some evidence that this can work, I think especially for the U.K. government as well, where we will be the partner. I think there is time enough for us to think about, let's say, strategies outside our core markets. [indiscernible] really not for tomorrow.

No, no, no. But we're also looking at the long term for BAM. But again, hopefully [indiscernible] might have become then a competitor in this respect?

Well, that depends then on the very long-term discussions on implementation outside our core activities. I don't know. We have the patent on this system. So we have it in our hands to make that decision strategically going forward.

Maybe final question.

Yes, two. Again, Martijn den Drijver for ABN AMRO. If you take EUR 7 billion as a basis, 6% EBITDA, roughly EUR 400 million in EBITDA, you take out EUR 80 million CapEx, EUR 100 million in leases, EUR 60 million in taxes, you add back some trade working capital flowing. I'm not assuming any M&A, of course, you get to a free cash flow of roughly EUR 200 million. The real question is, why are you so careful with the share buyback? Why just EUR 40 million? Your balance sheet can bear much more than that, and you can even do that on an annual basis if the market continues to operate at this level or you improve. So how did you get to the EUR 40 million?

Yes. As already alluded to also in previous meetings, we do have our capital allocation strategy, which is built upon 4 pillars, looking to our solvency, also our equipment, what is needed to improve our equipment. It's about M&A activities, land bank and indeed the dividends and share buyback. If you look to the total of dividend and share buyback, it's a similar figure compared with a year ago in total and paying 55%. You know about the acquisition there with regard to Blockland, which we are going to organize in the remaining part of this year. And we need a bit more flexibility also for land bank acquisitions as well. So I think it's not really a cautious approach. I think it's a very, how to say, realistic approach.

Okay. Got it. And then just a final almost bookkeeping question, but provisions and pensions resulted in a positive cash inflow in 2025. How is that possible? What did you provision for?

Yes. Looking to the provisions, we see an increase there, not using it at this moment in time. And that has mainly to do with the fact that our revenue, as already said, growth over time. I think in the last 2 years, roughly 12%. That means your normal warranty related to our obligations with regard to our built environment is also growing as well. We are not utilizing it.

Maybe, [indiscernible], the final question, yes.

On the Fehmarnbelt, just from my understanding, the work that you've done over the past period, and let's say, the revenues recognition, of course, is there. But in terms of billing and cash payments by your client, are you on track? Or is there a significant amount of stuck in work in progress because of the ongoing discussions?

Yes, we never go into details on specifics on projects. That's our normal policy, but it's also out of respect for our JV partners and our customer and the negotiations we are in or discussions we are in. So maybe later, we can come back to this one. But for now, we don't go into the specifics of this project.

And maybe as a last one, the EUR 13 billion order book now versus EUR 13 billion last year, do you sleep better because of the EUR 13 billion as it is today in terms of quality and visibility that you have?

I sleep better because we had a revenue of EUR 7 billion. So if you look at the EUR 13 billion, you have a revenue of EUR 7 billion and you have again EUR 13 billion. That's a pretty good performance.

And in terms of overall quality?

Well, we see the quality improving margin-wise, slowly, but steadily. And of course, people expect that to grow maybe even faster. But these are thousands of projects. So to get the whole chain of margins up, yes, that is a long-term game. It's a marathon. And steadily, but slowly, we see that improving, less risk, higher margin coming through the P&L. That's how we play this game.

One last question, please. Simon Van Oppen, Kepler Cheuvreux. I was wondering on your, let's say, recurring business, long-term maintenance contracts. Can you share roughly for the Netherlands, but also U.K. and Ireland, how much of your revenues is related to more recurring revenues?

Yes. More and more, we see, of course, like in the facility management, you have long-term contracts. So there it's easily to calculate. But more and more in all our other businesses like civil engineering, for example, you see that we have long-term relationships with, for example, SSE in Scotland and with TenneT in the Netherlands is that recurring revenue in definition. For us, it almost is because we see already the pipeline for the next 5 to 10 years. Same with companies like Enexis, for example, in the Netherlands and the local energy providers. We also have 10-year kind of contracts. In Contract U.K., you see more and more that our business is in education, like Henri is saying, these are frameworks. Is it recurring. From a definition point of view, we can debate. But in that framework, we see for 7 years, for example, business coming to us not per default, but it happens like that, of course. So more and more, let's say, our business is in a long-term kind of approach. Also the number of customers is decreasing all the time, and we are focusing on less customers with long-term frameworks or long-term contracts. Sometimes we have a one-off project that can happen. We are not against it. But strategy is to work within these frameworks and have, let's say, fewer customers with long-term relationships. The percentage, well, I think it's already a big percentage of our revenue today. I don't have it behind the comment, but...

Yes, that's a bit depending upon the definition of [indiscernible]. But I think in the meantime, quite a significant number.

Okay. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, this brings the meeting to an end. We hope to welcome you in the near future. Thank you, and have a good day.

Hello, and welcome to the BAM Analyst Call Half Year Results 2025. Today's call is being recorded.

[Operator Instructions]

I will now hand you over to Michel Aupers, Manager Investor Relations. -- to begin today's conference. Please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Michel Aupers, Investor Relations Manager at Royal BAM Group. Welcome to everyone joining this audio webcast. The meeting is hosted by our CEO, Ruud Joosten; and our CFO, Henry Pater. They will give a short presentation on the key points of BAM's results for the first half year of 2025.

There might be an issue now with presenting the slides on -- via our website but the slides are also available on the Investor Relations section of our website. So that's the possibility to follow the presentation. The slides -- so now I will draw your attention to the disclaimer, and then over to Ruud.

Thank you, Michel. Sorry for the delay, everyone, in the call. Fortunately, there's nothing to do with our results today. But anyhow, thank you for bearing with us. We are proud to highlight one of our key contributions to the future of the Dutch energy infrastructure, the new 380 kV high-voltage connection between Borssele and Rilland, and this is indeed on the first slide.

So I hope you can see that one. This project is part of our EUR 367 million multiyear framework agreement, a vital initiative aimed at strengthening and expanding the Dutch electricity grids to meet the growing demand for sustainable energy. BAM Infra Nederland plays a crucial role in this development. This project reflects our commitment to innovation, reliability and building a resilient energy network for generations to come.

Let's start with the key points of the first half year. The group has delivered a strong performance in the first 6 months of 2025, which reflects the success of our growth strategy and our core strength in the energy transition, transportation and the Dutch residential markets. Our reported adjusted EBITDA increased by 40% to EUR 176 million. This was the result of a 7% increase of revenues and a substantial improvement of our adjusted EBITDA margin from 4% to 5.2%. We are proud that we can present a net result of EUR 102 million, which is an 85% increase versus the first half year of '24.

All our activities contributed well, highlighting the resilience and effectiveness of our business model. We also made further progress with our legacy projects. We handed over the last school project in Denmark and finalized the Co-op Live arena in the United Kingdom. Our other key performance indicators also remained solid.

We maintained a strong financial position by focusing on projects with an attractive risk/reward balance, along with effective cost and working capital management. This has resulted in a robust solvency and liquidity position. It's good to see that our order book was maintained at a high level of EUR 12.9 billion. A substantial part of our recent project wins aligned with our strategic objective to expand in sustainable solutions, while we remain focused on the quality of the order intake.

Looking ahead, for 2025, we are now expecting an adjusted EBITDA margin of at least 5%. This is an upgrade versus the outlook we provided in May, which was an adjusted EBITDA margin of around 5%.

Now let's look at the performance of the 2 divisions. Next image illustrates a prime example of BAM's expanding electric vehicle fleet. The new electric tractor developed in-house is currently in use at Schiphol Airport. By electrifying our equipment, we reduced the emissions and enhance our competitive edge as a sustainability leader, allowing us to meet the rising demand for emission-free construction.

In April, our contract with Schiphol Amsterdam Airport was extended by 3 years. This reaffirmed our position as a trusted partner in maintaining and developing vital airport infrastructure and assets. Our integrated approach, extensive experience at Schiphol and shared commitment to sustainability and innovation supports Schiphol's ambition to be a leading and sustainable international hub.

The division Netherlands reported a 10% increase of revenues and the reported adjusted EBITDA improved substantially to EUR 110 million, reflecting a margin of 6.7%. The improved performance was driven by the high production in nonresidential construction. Also, the last project in Denmark was handed over.

Residential property development activities continue to contribute well. We sold 692 homes, and we made 917 houses more sustainable in the first 6 months. For the full year, we anticipate that the number of homes sold will exceed the 1,850 of last year. Also, our civil engineering activities continue to perform well.

Moving on to the division U.K. and Ireland. On this slide, you see Woodmill High School in Dunfermline. This month, BAM has received certificates from Passive House Institute for Woodmill and St. Columbus High School. Passive House is a worldwide operating institute that certifies researchers and promotes energy efficiency. This is now the largest certified passive house education building in the world.

In the first half year, we decided to simplify our organization in the division United Kingdom and Ireland by integrating the activities of Ventures U.K. into the other 3 businesses. This should further enhance our efficiency.

Now over to the results. Division United Kingdom and Ireland reported an adjusted EBITDA of EUR 66 million, 1/3 higher compared to last year and reflecting a margin of 4%. I'm pleased that Construct U.K. returned to profitability, and we recently finalized Co-op Live in Manchester. Our other businesses in the United Kingdom and Ireland performed very well.

Civil Engineering U.K. continued at its high productivity level, especially in rail and projects related to the energy transition. Ireland also had a solid contribution and is successful in the residential market. Our already well-filled order book increased by 2% to EUR 7.4 billion.

Now Henry will elaborate on the financials.

Thank you, Ruud, and good morning, everyone. On this slide, you see Amsterdam Central Station, a natural heritage site on one of the busiest transport hubs in the Netherlands. By 2030, the number of daily train passengers is expected to rise from 200,000 to 275,000. To meet this growing demand, we have partnered with ProRail to create more space for both passengers and trains. And over the past 2 years, we have successfully completed a major upgrade, the redesign of the entrance to the Western passenger tunnel, the widening of the platforms and the modernization of technical installations.

This morning, we reported an adjusted EBITDA of EUR 176 million, which translates into a margin of 5.2%. Other highlights are the backlog of EUR 12.9 billion, a solvency of 73% and a liquidity position of EUR 0.5 billion. These numbers confirm the success of implementing our strategy and was delivered by good performance of all business activities. Also, our performance supported BAM to return EUR 93 million via dividends and the running share buyback program to shareholders in the first half of 2025.

Let's zoom in on some details of our income statement. Group revenue was up by 7%, and it's good to see that both divisions contribute to the top line growth. Compared to last year, our reported adjusted EBITDA improved by 40%. This was a result of the increase of revenues in combination with a substantial higher adjusted EBITDA margin of 5.2%. The announced divestment of our 50% remaining stake in Invesis was completed on the 25th of March.

Depreciation and amortization totaled EUR 71 million. The increase is, among others, a reflection of our increased investments last year in sustainable and modular solutions, including the continued electrification of our plants and equipment. Our finance result is EUR 3.5 million higher compared to last year. This is mainly explained by interest income related to the payment arrangements with PGGM for the divestment of our Invesis stake.

The tax in our profit and loss account is EUR 11 million, which implies an effective tax rate of 10%. This low tax rate is the result of the revaluation of our deferred tax assets for the tax losses as part of our regular reassessment. For the full year, we expect a tax rate between 10% to 14%. Bottom line, BAM reports a net income of EUR 102 million. This is almost a doubling of our earnings per share to EUR 0.39 versus the EUR 0.20 reported a year ago.

Moving on to the cash flow statement. The operational performance resulted in a strong cash flow from operations of EUR 151 million. In the first half year, the cash flow from working capital was EUR 266 million negative. This reflects the normal seasonal pattern of trade working capital and included also EUR 90 million of investments in our residential development positions like in Bilthoven [indiscernible].

To put things in perspective, in the comparable period last year, our investment was limited to EUR 2 million. It's good to see that trade working capital efficiency slightly improved to minus 12.3% versus the minus 11.7% at year-end of 2024. The net cash flow of investing activities was on balance 0. And to mention the largest building blocks, our capital expenditures was EUR 46 million, and BAM received the first tranche of the EUR 54 million related to the divestment of Invesis.

The second tranche of the same amount is expected before the end of the year. Cash flow from financing activities of minus EUR 111 million included the payment of dividend in cash of EUR 66 million and the share buyback totaling EUR 27 million. The remainder of the cash flow from financing relates to leases and an increase of debt to fund new development positions. Our liquidity position remains solid at EUR 0.5 billion, which is comparable with our position mid-2024.

Next to our financial position. Our net cash position after lease liabilities of EUR 153 million is around the same level as last year. Shareholders' equity was slightly lower versus full year of 2024, which is mainly explained by the payment of dividend this year fully in cash and the start of our share buyback program in May. Our solvency is 23%, the same level compared to full year of 2024. We had a strong net result in the first half of the year of EUR 102 million but in the first half year, we also distributed EUR 93 million to the shareholders via dividends and share buybacks.

Now back to you, Ruud.

Thank you, Henry. I would like to conclude with the market trends and our outlook for full year 2025. Here, we show you a photo of the works we execute on the Transpennine Route Upgrade, one of the largest investments in England's rail infrastructure. We are pleased with the development of our order book, which was maintained at a high level of EUR 12.9 billion. This while we continue to focus strongly on order book quality and selective tendering in key markets where we have a proven competitive advantage.

Now over to the market trends. In the Netherlands, the residential market remained strong, driven by stable consumer confidence. The nonresidential market is cautiously optimistic, specifically in the health care, education and office sector. In civil, there are many attractive growth opportunities driven by the energy transition and the transport market. There remains a strong rationale for essential investment in energy transition, infrastructure, defense and sustainable and affordable homes.

The construction market in the United Kingdom is also expected to grow. Energy security remains a key focus for the U.K. government. The recently announced 10-year infrastructure strategy from the U.K. government is also positive. And like in the Netherlands, investments in defense are expected to rise as well.

In Ireland, there's also a solid demand for transport and social infrastructure. The Irish government launched a new task force to oversee the department's program for reform to unblock barriers and accelerate infrastructure delivery. Delivering complex infrastructure projects and new homes are essential for creating thriving communities, but this requires stability, clear planning and commitment beyond short-term political agendas.

Now over to the outlook for the full year. We continue our disciplined contract and risk management approach, which is a fundamental priority within our strategy to enhance our financial performance and predictability. For 2025, BAM expects to deliver an adjusted EBITDA of at least 5%, which is an upgrade versus the outlook we provided in May when we published our first quarter trading update.

Now we will take your questions.

[Operator Instructions] And our first question today comes from Martijn Drijver from ABN AMRO.

I have 4 questions. I'll take them one by one, if I may. And my first question is just looking at your adjusted EBITDA margin, 5.2%. If you take out that claim settlement in Germany, which is roughly EUR 2 million, EUR 3 million, you've done underlying 5.3% in H1. Now in the last 2 years, your H2 EBITDA margin has been over 100 basis points better than your first half EBITDA margin. And if I were solely to add H2 2024 to your current H1 2025, I would get closer to 6% than 5%. So what is causing that relatively cautious guidance upgrade from around 5% to at least 5%? What is keeping you back? That's question one.

Okay. Well, maybe I first take this one, Martijn. Indeed, you know as we always try to underpromise and overdeliver. So that's also part of this. We don't see, let's say, at this moment in time, reasons to believe that our results or revenue will not develop well, also looking at the order book in the second half of the year. But it's also clear that there is still uncertainty politically, especially in the Netherlands and also in the world. So in that sense, we stay a little bit cautious and of course, try to surprise you again by the end of the year.

Okay. So it's just your normal indeed behavior with regards to underpromise and over deliver. Got it. Then my second question is on the Dutch civil engineering activities, you mentioned it had a good performance. But if I look at the adjusted EBITDA margin, it was 4.7% this semester, where it was usually between 6% and 7%. So half year last year was 6.5%. So why has that EBITDA margin dropped quite a bit actually in the first half?

I'd like to answer this question. I think that's really a fair challenge. As you said, we are operating on a level of 4.6%, which is still healthy and in line with our projections. If you are comparing the figures also, let's say, with the same period a year ago, at that moment in time, we saw some one-offs, completion of larger and a couple of other projects as well. We saw in the first half of 2025, a lower or slower start, specifically in roadworks, and we are still expecting an acceleration in the second half. So overall, still satisfied with the performance of our Dutch civil engineering activities.

Okay. So no difference between the large projects business and the, let's call it, the regional ones. The performance is equal in both?

Yes.

Okay. Moving on. My third question is with regards to Construct U.K. You've made our lives quite a bit more difficult by transferring these businesses again. So Facility Management and Property Development is now included in Construct U.K. If you were to exclude those, was BAM Construct U.K. actually profitable at the EBITDA level? And when do you -- if it wasn't, when do you expect Construct U.K. to get to those margins that you need in order for BAM overall to get to 5%, 6%?

No. Indeed, that percent wise, it doesn't make a big difference because indeed, there was a huge increase in profitability of construct on its own. And to be honest, of course, that also had to do with the finalization of the Co-op Live project in Manchester because we reported on that one. We had some other disappointments in construct over the last couple of years. And these disappointments or disappointed projects, better to say, are now out of the order book. So we are now focusing again on profitable projects, being very selective in tendering going forward. We have some very attractive tenders coming in. So also stand-alone, without the ventures results, there's a strong recovery in U.K. country.

Okay. Got it. And then my fourth question. I was slightly puzzled. This is a question for Henry, puzzled by the working capital cash out of EUR 266 million and it was lower last year, even though your trade working capital has actually become more negative, which is positive when you grow and you've grown. So how can working capital cash outflows be more negative if you have a positive trend in your working capital -- in your trade working capital?

Martijn, the main driver is additional investments in our property business. So you already said something about it. We included EUR 90 million of investments in property, which is reported on the line item working capital. If you compare it to the same period in 2024 at that moment in time, as already said, we invested just EUR 2 million. So I think it's more positive if you compare that with the same period a year ago and really positive to be able to invest in the EUR 90 million of property position, which is really helpful to drive that business going forward as well.

Correct. I had not fully realized that. I have 2 more other questions but I'll go back into the queue for now.

And our next question now comes from Maarten Verbeek from The IDEA.

Maarten Verbeek from IDEA. Firstly, you have completed and handed over the Danish School project and Co-op live in Manchester. Did you have to take additional costs for that because there were still some issues in Denmark that much, but still the co-op one -- or did you provision for all of that already last year?

The answer is yes.

Provisioning all last year?

Yes. There were no additional costs in this half year in this quarter.

With regard to the Rolls-Royce joint venture for SMRs, could you give us some kind of indication how much work for BAM that involves in revenues?

Yes. I think that's -- you have to see that we are, let's say, having the IP on a system that we developed for an overarching building when the people of Rolls-Royce are building the nuclear installation. So after the completion of the nuclear installation, this BAM temporary building will be removed. So that are, let's say, substantial -- that will be substantial investments for these temporary buildings. But of course, it all depends as well on the number of these smaller nuclear plants that will be built all over Europe, which is the plan anyway by Rolls-Royce, of course.

So probably it will start with a couple of these installations in the U.K. to be tested. And of course, it's not -- it's linked to all kind of permitting and investment by the U.K. government, and they now announced EUR 30 billion to be available for that investment. So it seems there is progress there. And maybe by the end of '27 or early '28, we will see the first of these test installations coming through within the United Kingdom. And then there are, let's say, if that happens for BAM, it will be in the hundreds of millions coming into our revenue stream.

And then lastly for now, the National Children's Hospital, do you expect that to be completed before year-end?

Yes. That's true. The question or...

Now this question. And then as a follow-up, do you also expect a complete settlement on all the costs with the National Children's Hospital that will be settled as well before year-end?

I think we discussed this hospital now, I think, anyway for me for the fifth year in a row in these meetings. And of course, we like to complete it as soon as possible. We are very proud of the result of what we are doing over there. But the fact of the matter is that the customer is coming with design changes all the time still now. And that means that we -- as a build-only company, we have to implement all these changes. And that leads to delay on delay on delay. So where we are now looking at the change orders we have in our portfolio, we plan to hand over the project, the building before the end of the year. And then there is still discussion, of course, on additional cost for all these changes with the customer.

And lastly, I just would like to get back to the SMR. This initial order, I presume it's not yet in your order book.

No, in our order book are only signed contracts.

And from ING, we now have Tijs Hollestelle with our next question.

I also had a question on the U.K. Building division because I feel a bit wrong footed because I thought in the morning, there were more results out that, okay, I'm glad that this is in the positive territory. But what I understand now is that the complete venture revenue results being incorporated in the building business of the U.K. So there is still an operating loss underneath something between minus 15% and minus 5%. Is that correct?

This is Henry. That isn't correct. So if you talk about the Facility Management business and property, which is included now in the Construct U.K. line item, then we are talking about lower level of revenues and results. So Construct U.K. only without Facility Management and the Property business is acting on a positive level now, although it's still low but they are moving to 2.5% EBITDA.

Okay. And let's say, the historic performance before the losses were reported was an average EBITDA margin of about 3% for that building business in the U.K. Is that something we can expect to go back to in the second half? Or it will happen more gradually the recovery?

Yes. So we are making incremental steps but I think it's good to note if you're talking about the backlog and the order intake, then we are acting and trading on that level already.

Okay. And then I have another question. In the Dutch division, there is a EUR 3.9 million result in other. What is that result?

Can you repeat the question?

In the Dutch division, in the segment order, there's a EUR 3.9 million EBITDA contribution. What is that.

Yes, there are always, let's say, on the consolidation level of a division, some other results, which has to do, for example, with eliminations like internal equipment revenues and those kind of stuff.

That's a kind of a one-off?

Yes, if you compare it also in previous years, it's normalized around 0.

Okay. Yes. And then I also had a question about the dynamics in the Dutch Building and Property division. So I understand that part of the quite massive improvement year-on-year comes from the Danish school projects no longer impacting profits negatively. But I also noticed that there was quite a drop in the sold houses volume, something like 70%. I know that pricing is strong and that you have good projects but you're also mentioning in the press release that you expect a higher full year number of houses to be sold. Is that now reflecting, let's say, Dutch market conditions? Or is that purely based on what BAM has the projects at hand? So can you explain a little bit what the drivers are here?

Yes, I think it's a fair question. The dynamics are still strong. And we also talked about it, of course, many times, it could have been much better with more positions and permitting, let's say, speed of the Dutch government, nitrogen issues, what have you. But still, looking at our flow -- deal flow for the second half of the year, we are confident about this, let's say, target of above 1,850 houses. And I'm also happy to say that over the last week, we signed a deal with an investor for almost 500 homes. So that already gives us a kind of a nice basis of around 1,200 or more than that even for the second half of the year.

So I think based on our -- indeed, our stream of deals that we see, the 1,850 is reasonable, and that's why we are pretty comfortable to make that statement today.

Yes. So the first half profitability is kind of a good reflection for how it is going with BAM projects and also with the underlying market condition, good proxy for profitability going forward.

Yes. I think you're right, there are many dynamics playing in that segment, of course, because you have indeed, on one hand, the positive news that we got rid of the Danish business. And on the other hand, we see also very good progress in the nonresidential business in the Netherlands, which is also part of these numbers. So when you see there that our strategy of focusing on lower risk and higher profitability projects is really working. So -- and then on top of that, the stable results in the residential part of the business, yes, when you add that all up, you get business.

[Operator Instructions] Next, we now move to Tim Ehlers from Kepler Cheuvreux.

The first one would be about Ireland. In the press release, not really in the presentation, you're talking about residential activities that you do there and that you expect to build, if I'm not fully wrong, 300 houses in Ireland this year, which will represent roughly 30% of what you do in the Netherlands. Is that a market that you plan to grow a bit, so basically that you diversify your residential activities? Because in the past, you were not really active in any other regions with regards to that. Yes, how should we look at that?

Tim, fair challenge, fair question, of course. It's already an existing market, and there is a lot of appetite over there as well. And we own a land bank for years, and we are now developing the bank. Hence, we are bringing a house to the market already lots and lots of apartments together with a government body, so to say. And we are also, let's say, selling private houses to private customers, trading out that land bank that is currently, as already said, part of our business.

Okay. Great. And are you planning to replenish that land bank, grow the land bank or basically just selling what you have?

The first challenge is already, let's say, taking care of the current land bank before talking about, let's say, all the kind of new strategic options.

Okay. Great. Then another question would be about the cash flow. So I mean, it looks like normal seasonal pattern, if you would adjust for the increase in inventories from the residential project in Bilthoven of the EUR 90 million. How should we look at it at the full year? Should we expect an improvement versus last year, assuming that the increase in inventories will be offset by the EUR 100 million cash in from investors, of which you already got a 50% tranche. And then, just looking at operations, which should be -- cash flow from operations, which should be higher, so it should be quite a step-up.

Yes, fair challenge. So current cash position is EUR 0.5 billion. And in that cash position, as already mentioned, so we invested EUR 90 million in our property positions, but also we paid EUR 93 million to our shareholders. If you talk about the dividend, if you compare that with 2024, all in cash, but also the share buyback program. There's always a seasonal pattern in the upcoming period, but we are expecting to ramp up also in the second half in line with our projections. And it's also a bit depending upon opportunities in the market. If you're talking about additional investments, for example, in property, they will be incorporated in those outlooks going forward as well.

Okay. Clear. And then one last question about the legacy projects. Probably already know the answer, but any updates on the projects that you don't mention in the press release, so besides Ireland and besides Denmark, could you share any details there? And is it still on track to, well, clean up the portfolio outside or other than the Fehmarnbelt tunnel in this year?

No, I think we mentioned before that the list of these legacy projects was decreasing fast. I think we mentioned the number of 23 of these projects 5 years ago. Today, you can see a very short list. We are finalizing indeed the new Children Hospital this year. Then we still have the Metro in Brisbane that we are also finalizing now that will take a little bit longer. And I think then in the end, there is the Fehmarnbelt project where we have a 12.5% stake, and that's a big beast and that will only be finalized in 2030, maybe '31. So we will come back to that when there is news or developments. We are now preparing the first immersion of the tunnel elements into the sea. So hopefully, that can start after summer. And hopefully, we can give you some more operational details then about that project.

Okay. There would have been a follow-up question on the Fehmarnbelt tunnel. So there is this milestone where they put the first elements into the water and that would be after summer and that would give a bit more clarity how things would progress, right? So it's something to...

I think that's a really important -- Yes. I think, Tim, that's an important moment for the project, of course, because then you start the immersion process. And hopefully, we can then also give some more information on planning of that project and see where we are financially as well.

And we now have a follow-up question from Martijn den Drijver from ABN AMRO.

Henry, why was there a delay with the PGGM payment for Invesis because it was supposed to be in the cash flow to be received in Q2, at least that was the last guidance.

There was no delay, Martijn. So the first payment was paid before the end of the first half, and the second one will be paid before year-end. So it is absolutely in line with the signed contract.

Okay. Then moving on to BAM Construct. The question Tijs asked the historical margin, can we go back to that? You said based on order intake, we're roughly trading at that level. Is that the ambition level? Or do you think you can improve that further given the increased focus on the educational and health care segment?

Yes. I think it's a combination of risk and profitability. The idea is that we focus indeed not on the, let's say, big sexy projects like Sky Studios and Co-op Live in Manchester. Indeed, we go for the, let's say, longer-term framework contracts with British government, for example, for health care and education. And then we're not looking at schools of hundreds of millions but maybe more, let's say, EUR 50 million to EUR 100 million and schools that are, let's say, similar to each other, so we can use a little bit more industrial approach there as well. That's what we're going for. And that means a little bit higher margin, but also lower risk. So that combination, I think, leads to the conclusion that we'll look for a little bit higher margin, but especially with the low risk levels.

Got it. Got it. And then on the Dutch non-resi, which was strong. Can you elaborate a little bit on that? Which segment drove that strong performance? And if you look at your order book backlog, is that sustainable in the coming 6, 12, 18 months?

Yes, absolutely. So when you look at that period, I think you will see the same development for that segment. What we did a couple of years is that ago, we said goodbye to smaller projects with higher risk levels where we could not really add our specialty. So in that segment, we are looking for the more complex projects where we can add our sustainability knowledge, for example. Like, for example, the ABN AMRO new headquarters that you probably know very well in Amsterdam, where we are in the partnership with ABN AMRO to deliver one of the best offices in the world, where we use also a lot of wood, for example, to bring an excellent office for the employees of ABN AMRO. And I think that is the core business of our -- of that segment.

We're also working on the AP, for example, in Schiphol Airport. This is also in line with the sustainability ambitions from Schiphol management. That are the kind of projects we want to be involved where we can really add our knowledge and experience. So we're looking for projects that are like that also for the future, but we are very selective. We are very selective. So if we don't see that or we don't have that, we will not tender. But the fact is that this segment is still a bit difficult.

This office segment is a bit coming back but still difficult in the Netherlands, still hesitance from parties to jump into these bigger projects. So we are very selective. But based on the -- what people see, what we are doing in these projects I just mentioned, there is an attractive pipeline coming up. There are not many but we don't need many in that segment. We just won a few of these very attractive projects. On top of that, maybe good to mention that we also went through the portfolio of our field management or facility management in the Netherlands, and we cut back there many, many projects and maintenance contracts. So that's also part of this improvement of the results of that segment.

Got it. And then with regards to H2 cash flow and investments in the land bank, should I assume that the acquisition of the [indiscernible] terrain in Amsterdam is a cash out in H2? Or will that close in 2026 because it is quite a material one.

Yes. So Martijn, that's indeed spot on. It's already acquired, signed in July. So it's part of our cash outflow in the second half of this year.

Okay. Clear. And then a technical question related to my discontent about the reclassifications. How much sales and EBITDA was transferred to the Ireland unit, just to get a good grip on the underlying performance? -- roughly speaking.

Maybe, Martijn, in the slide deck on the last page, you also find a pro forma setup of the U.K. division, how it was in 2024 in the new setup. So that provides some more insight.

Yes, but that is already on a year-over-year improvement. So you restated 2024, but doesn't really tell me. I don't have the slide in front of me but doesn't really tell me what...

I don't think that we are talking about material figures.

Okay. So the performance has not been tainted or changed much by the reclassification.

Absolutely not.

Okay. And then just normally, Tijs does this but now I'm going to do it. Just to ask for some change in the reporting. Could you please go back to normal reporting for Q1 and Q3? The qualitative update is helpful but definitely not as helpful as what you had previously. That was a question/statement request.

Clear. And as you can imagine, I'm not going to give any promises there. But of course, we listen always very carefully to you guys.

Thank you. Yes, we have no further questions in the queue.

Sorry, operator. Okay. Then this concludes -- this concludes the call. I think for now, everybody, thanks for calling in. Sorry for the delay, as mentioned, and I hope to see you and hear from you soon. Thank you.

Thank you for joining today's call. Ladies and gentlemen, you may now disconnect.