"We are on the right road to becoming the largest logistical infrastructure company in Brazil, as well as prepared to invest with structured capital and discipline"
EcosulIn 2011, Brazil demonstrated its economic solidity and maturity, maintaining a heated up economy and responding quickly and assertively to the uncertainties of the world scenario. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 2.7% on the year, making the country the sixth largest economy in the world.
At EcoRodovias, we also enhanced our excellence and commemorated achievements. Thanks to the consistency of our sustainability policies and practices, we became part of the BM&FBOVESPA’s Business Sustainability Index (ISE). The indicator includes the top reference companies with respect to this item. Through the corporate Sustainability Committees and the highway concessions, we disseminated a sustainability culture among our employees, promoted awareness and preservation initiatives and social, economic and cultural development.
We maintained the level of investments and improved the operations of the highway concessions. Two of our five roadways were considered among the best in the country according to a survey conducted by the National Transportation Confederation. In logistical services, we continued our efforts to structure Elog and we acquired Maringá, an important operation that strengthens our activities in airports in the Northeast region of the State of Paraná.
We ended the year presenting good results. The traffic through our concessionaires rose 11.3%, surpassing the milestone of 200 million equivalent vehicles. Regarding logistical services, we boosted container handling by 44.2%, mainly due to the services being offered by Ecopátio Cubatão and the consolidation of the CLIA Santos unit.
Net revenue grew 28.0% over 2010, totaling R$1,827.4 million. EBITDA was R$957.3 million, 17.9% higher than the previous year. Our net income was R$387.6 million, 30.9% higher than the adjusted net income for the prior year (excluding revenues obtained through the sale of a 20% stake in Elog in 2010).
Port of SantosAll of this success was only possible because of our distinctive, extremely competent and engaged team. We continue to value our human capital, offering the best market practices in compensation and benefits and programs that emphasize quality of life, health and security. We invest in the training of our employees and monitor their growth within the Company through structured career initiatives and annual performance assessments. And we are proud of the positive response that we have seen in the improvements in the organizational climate survey and the inclusion of EcoRodovias in the rankings of the best companies in which to work in Brazil.
We are on the right road to becoming the largest logistical infrastructure company in Brazil, effectively positioning ourselves in the import and export market. The scenario for the forthcoming years is an optimistic one, based on growth in investments in infrastructure for the large upcoming events that include the Football World Cup and the Olympic Games, and also because of the upcoming auctions of Brazilian airport infrastructure.
Our strategic priorities for the next two years include active participation in the airport and port sector opportunities, signing partnerships with benchmark companies in order to guarantee excellence in the management of new businesses. We are prepared to invest with structured capital and discipline, in cooperation with the government and guaranteeing profitability and returns for our investors. The victory at the beginning of 2012 in the concession auction for a stretch of the BR-101 highway between Espírito Santo and Bahia is an example of this. In the next few months, we will begin working to adjust the roadways so that subsequently we will be able to begin operating the system.
We already have shown our shareholders that our experience in merging businesses is one of our distinguishing characteristics and we are able to build genuine and long-lasting relations with our suppliers and customers. I would like to express appreciation to all of our employees and partners for their excellence, dedication and transparency that have been hallmarks of our work over the past year. And I hope that these paths that we have built together will be expanded, revisited and transformed so that together we shall carry on with our history of success and learning.