While Brisa and its sub-companies succeed on the stock exchange, new partnerships are set to move the business into Latin America, the U.S. and Central, Eastern and Western Europe.

Brisa Auto-Estradas is the driving force behind Portugal’s motorway sector. As the company works to link the north with the south and the east with the west, Brisa’s business dealings are innovative and environmentally conscientious. With new motorway concessions and transport and infrastructure projects in the works, the company has a strong drive towards growth beyond its domestic market

PORTUGAL’S largest and most important national motorway operator, Brisa Auto-Estradas, operates the backbone of the country’s road system. The network is based on 11 motorways with a total length of over 1,000 kilometers, mostly comprised of Portuguese road links connecting the country from north to south and east to west.

Keeping ahead of the times, the Via Verde non-stop electronic turnpike system, introduced by Brisa in 1991, was a technological breakthrough against congestion and continuously provides new services to drivers daily. Brisa’s Operational Coordination Center, which uses pioneering environmental and energy efficient solutions, guarantees streamlined network management and provides new levels of road safety and customer service. The company’s Tagus Crossing in Carregado, on the A10 motorway, is yet another example of sustainable construction as it is designed to cross the river Tagus with minimal impacts. Composed of a combination of bridges and viaducts, it stretches 11,570 meters and is being built over the alluvial plains of the Lezíria Grande do Tejo, one of Portugal’s most important agricultural regions.

Brisa’s mission is to be a partner in Portugal’s development of and believes that sustainability is key for continuous growth with profit and social progress. In 2005, the company managed high traffic flows with a total circulation of eight billion vehicles. New openings of motorway stretches, scheduled until the second quarter of 2007, will complete the company’s main concession. Litoral Centro is a new concession currently under construction in the center of Portugal, which is expected to be fully operational in 2008. It will add a further 100 kilometers to Brisa’s operations. The company has also increased its stake in Auto-Estradas do Atlântico to 50 percent, adding another 172 strategic kilometers to its operations.

A significant contributor to Portugal, the company insured eight billion vehicles per kilometer in 2004

As a key player in all major national infrastructure projects, Brisa is committed to submitting new tenders for new concessions, and based on a case-by-case analysis it targets other transportation infrastructures such as airports, the Portuguese high-speed train and logistic platforms.

Brisa has developed a successful international strategy based on a model of partnerships with strong local partners. It currently owns stakes in Brazil’s CCR (Companhia de Concessões Rodoviárias) and Spain’s Abertis, both leaders in their regional markets.

Such success has led to growth and Brisa is looking to branch out. Opportunities are opening up in Central and Eastern Europe, in particular in motorway concessions and in toll operation services. Brisa has proposed itself for tenders in the Greenfield market in Poland. In a partnership with the Austrian firm Kapsch, the company was awarded the operation of Electronic Toll Collection operations in the Czech Republic. Hungary and Slovakia are the next prospective markets.

The company has also touched down in North America together with CCR. In a partnership with Balfour Beatty, Brisa is already bidding for one motorway concession in Texas (State Highway 161, Dallas) and is looking at other U.S. market opportunities.

As one of the largest Portuguese companies on the stock exchange, with a market capitalization of around $6.3 billion (€5 billion), Brisa is included on PSI 20, the main Portuguese stock exchange index, as well as on the Euronext 100 index which lists the largest companies in France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal. Brisa has also been listed on the FTSE 4 Good Sustainability Index since September 2005.

VASCO DE MELLO Chairman of the Board Brisa Auto-Estradas

The company is the most efficient player in the sector, having an EBITDA margin over 70 percent. Furthermore, Brisa’s price share and dividend per share have grown by an average of 9 percent a year for the last five years. In 2005, the company’s market capitalization was $5.5 billion (€4.3 billion), total revenue was $744 million (€580 million) and net profit was $382 million (€298 million). With a 4 percent weighted average cost of debt, Brisa maintains that 47 percent of the debt is fixed, 10 percent is revisably fixed, 10 percent is linked to inflation and 33 percent is a result of floating.
Run by a board of directors consisting of 11 members and a five-member executive committee, there are no limitation rights and everyone’s share is equal. With a total of 600 million shares, José de Mello owns 30 percent, Abertis and Peñsoesgere (BCP) each own 10 percent, and 49 percent is part of a free float.

Brisa also owns a series of companies specialized in motoring services directed at improving the quality of customer care and increasing its own operating efficiency. Via Verde system is the star product with a full range of mobility solutions based on a state-of-the-art Electronic Fee Collection system and a wide-range road telematics system. In 2006, Via Verde was awarded the IBTTA Toll Excellence Award for Technology.