Good morning, everyone. I'm Michel Aupers, Investor Relations Manager at Royal BAM Group. Welcome to everyone joining this analyst meeting here in Amsterdam or in the audio webcast. The meeting is hosted by our CEO, Ruud Joosten, and our CFO, Frans den Houter. They will give a short presentation on key points of BAM's results for the H1 year 2024. Afterwards, we will take your questions. I'll draw your attention to the disclaimer here. Ruud, over to you, please. Thank you, Michel, and good morning, all. This picture shows the recently completed new DSM-Firmenich headquarters in Maastricht. This building is the first renovated listed building in the Netherlands, set to become Paris-proof for its low operational carbon footprint. Let's start with the key points of the H1 year. BAM delivered a solid performance in the H1 year of 2024. The adjusted EBITDA increased by 6% to EUR 126 million versus the same period last year, and our group revenue also improved by 6% to EUR 3.1 billion. The adjusted EBITDA margin was in line with last year, with last year at 4%. Most of our businesses performed well, but it's disappointing that our results were held back by the indoor arena project Co-op Live in Manchester and two schools in Denmark. These projects, which are nearing completion, resulted in substantial losses. In recent years, BAM has made significant progress in de-risking its portfolio. When I started as CEO after the summer of 2020, BAM had approximately 20 high-risk projects in the portfolio. At that time, we were still working on projects like Sea Lock IJmuiden, Museum of the Future, and Yas Arena, both in the Middle East. We were in the middle of a complicated dispute with our client regarding the Afsluitdijk project in the Netherlands. Today, we have completed the majority of these projects, and therefore there are no longer a threat to our profitability. Zooming in on our portfolio today, we are nearing completion of remaining projects as Silvertown Tunnel in London, National Children's Hospital in Dublin, and Cross River Rail in Brisbane. The Fehmarnbelt Tunnel project between Germany and Denmark is expected to be completed in 2030. We have halved our exposure to a 12.5% stake after the divestment of Wayss & Freytag. Over to the key performance indicators. In the H1 year, we realized a net income of EUR 55 million, reflecting an earnings per share of EUR 0.20. Furthermore, our liquidity position remained solid, and our capital ratio further improved. Our order book increased by 12% to EUR 11 billion. A substantial part of our recent project wins is in line with our strategic objective to expand in sustainable solutions while we remain focused on the quality of the order intake. Now let's look at the performance of the two divisions. On this slide, you can see very energy-efficient homes realized by BAM Wonen in the Gashouderskwartier in Arnhem. For inspiration and adjustments to their homes, the buyers were invited to our experience center Homestudios. Adjusted EBITDA in the Netherlands was up from last year to EUR 70 million, reflecting a margin of 4.7%. In the segment construction and property, there was a strong contribution of residential. The Dutch residential market is improving, and we sold 832 homes, much higher compared to last year. Consumer confidence is solid due to a combination of increased salaries, continued low unemployment, and a stabilization of the interest rates. For the full year, we expect to sell approximately 1,700 homes, which is in line with the number of homes sold last year. The reported adjusted EBITDA included substantial losses on the two schools in Denmark. We'll complete these projects before year-end. The civil engineering activities continued to contribute to the positive trend of the last years and delivered a solid result. Our Dutch order book improved to EUR 5.1 billion. Moving on to the division UK and Ireland. On this slide, you see a recently opened Breast Centre in Wales, a healthcare project of Construct UK. The overall result decreased to an adjusted EBITDA of EUR 51 million, reflecting a margin of 3.2%. Construction UK reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of EUR 24 million, and that includes the earlier reported project delays and supply chain issues. In the Q2, we had additional cost of around EUR 30 million related to the delayed opening of Co-op Live. Our other businesses in the division UK and Ireland performed well. Civil Engineering UK had an exceptional strong start of the year, supported by high activity levels, especially in rail. BAM Ventures also showed a solid performance. Result in Ireland improved substantially, also supported by a partial claim recognition in Ireland for the National Children's Hospital. Last May, the independent conciliator recommended an award of EUR 107 million and a significant extension of time to BAM for this project. Much of this round flows to related claims and the supply chain. The project result improved with a single-digit number, partially offsetting losses supported in previous years. The NCH project is now for more than 90% completed, and we are on track with the revised timetable to deliver for delivery to the client. Now, Frans, we'll take you through the financials. Thank you, Ruud, and good morning, everyone. This slide shows Schiphol, a key client of BAM. At Schiphol, we have started a large-scale replacement of climate systems on the Pier A. This is a good example on how we are supporting our clients to become more sustainable. This morning, we released a set of solid numbers to the H1 year of 2024, a revenue of EUR 3.1 billion, delivering an Adjusted EBITDA of EUR 126 million. Both numbers are a step up of 6% versus the previous year. Obviously, I share Ruud's disappointment related to the losses in Construct UK and the two schools in Denmark. However, the good performance for the rest of the portfolio was able to more than offset these losses, and this resulted in an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 4% overall in the H1 year. Our results are supported by the performance in civil UK, the important settlement on New Children's Hospital, and the strong performance in the Dutch residential. The strong net result of EUR 55 million contributed to a further growth in equity to approximately EUR 950 million, and as such, again, a stronger balance sheet, also earmarked by the solvency of EUR 24.5 million and a solid cash position of around EUR 450 million. The company has not used the RCF during the H1, and we do not expect to use it for the remainder of the year. Now, let's look at the income statement. Revenues were up by 6%, mainly driven by division NL, as residential home sales recovered. We sold 832 homes, mainly to private buyers, and we continued our focus on selective multi-asset clients like Schiphol Airport. Our Belgian businesses contributed very well, offsetting the modest rundown cost of divested businesses and BAM International. BAM's share of Invesis net result for the H1 year was break-even, and there were no exceptional items, and the result is broadly in line with the normal operational performance of Invesis. Going forward, there's an attractive pipeline, and you may have noticed that last week, a consortium with Invesis is the preferred bidder for the Melton Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Depreciation and amortization totaled EUR 61 million, which is 12% higher compared to last year, a result of our increased investments in sustainable and modular solutions, including the container electrification of our plant and equipment. At this moment, approximately half our lease cars have been electrified, and the first batch of EV company car vans are on the road. We report restructuring cost of EUR 4 million, mainly to adapt to the organization of Construction UK to the current market circumstances. Income tax in the P&L is EUR 10 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of 16%. I reiterate our guidance on an effective tax rate of 18%-20% for the coming years. For this year, the slight lower effective tax rate is explained by the relatively high contribution of Ireland, where the tax rate is only 12.5%, and a small tax benefit related to the wind-down of BAM International. For the full year 2024, the effective tax rate will be around 16%. Bottom line, BAM reports a net income of EUR 55 million, reflecting earnings per share of EUR 0.20. Now, let's look at the cash flow statement. Our cash flow from operations was EUR 111 million, and in line with our performance of last year. The majority of the cash outflow in working capital is explained by the normal seasonal pattern, and compared to the H1 year 2023, a modest net investment in land positions. We expect that the current level of trading working capital efficiency of around -11% is a good proxy for the years to come, based on what we now know. The cash out on provisions and pensions totaled EUR 53 million, and the cash out on investing is EUR 59 million. Cash from financing activities included EUR 53 million for the payment of cash dividends and the buyback of shares. Our share buyback program is progressing well. The repurchase of 7.2 million shares issued for the dividend in stock was completed, and today we continue the additional 30 million share buyback, which will lower the number of outstanding shares ranked for dividend. Based on the current run rate, we expect to complete repurchasing early in the Q4. Back to the cash flow statement. The remainder of the cash flow from financing relates to the leases, and our liquidity position remained solid at EUR 453 million. Now, over to the financial position. Trade working capital asset landed at -11.3%, and our capital ratio landed at 24.5%, a further increase versus the year 2023. Our liquidity position remained solid, and we further strengthened our capital base. To conclude, I would like to highlight that we have accelerated our mid-year reporting by three weeks, and as such, update our shareholders faster on our performance. Also, it's a nice proof point on how we have strengthened our processes, smartened our systems, and improved collaboration within our teams. Now, back to you, Ruud. Thank you, Frans. I would like to conclude with the market trends and our outlook for the full year. Here we show you the teaching and communal building of Southam College in Warwickshire, home to 1,650 students. This college will achieve a net zero carbon emission and low energy use. This scheme of BAM Construct UK is setting the bar. It will give guide how schools are built in the future. We continue our strong focus on order book quality and selective tendering. The order book increased by 12% to EUR 11 billion, driven by recent project wins in line with our strategic objective to expand in sustainable solutions. After the elections in the Netherlands and in the UK, there are new governments in place. These governments have ambitious plans, which are at first sight positive for the construction industry. But we have to wait and see how the ambitions will be translated in real projects to improve infrastructure, education, energy, security, and result in the production of more sustainable and affordable homes. In general, cost increases are leading to delays in some project awards in non-residential, while utilities and grid operators continue to invest in infrastructure. The residential market further improved, driven by robust consumer confidence due to salary increases, stabilization of interest rates, and the continuing high employment rate. For the medium to longer term, there remains compelling rationale for essential investments in energy transition, infrastructure, and sustainable and affordable homes. In the UK, the order backlog of civil engineering is expected to benefit from governmental plans to energy security and continued investment in transportation. The markets for retrofit and refurbishment projects and the education and health provision offer attractive opportunities. The Irish economy is performing well, and we continue to be positive about the overall level of opportunity in the construction and infrastructure markets, notwithstanding traditionally competitive environments. We are confident that our recently launched strategic roadmap will deliver value to our clients, create development opportunities for our employees, and generate attractive returns to our shareholders. BAM expects to deliver an Adjusted EBITDA margin between 4% and 5% for the full year 2024. Now, we will take your questions. Yes, please do. Let's start. Thijs Berkelder, ABN AMRO - ODDO BHF. First, the main question is on the adjustment in your EBITDA margin guidance for the full year. I've understood it previously was 4%-6%, now 4%-5% for the full year. So the question is, what is weaker than expected in your H2 expectation than in your previous assumptions? Well, we see the outlook within our range that we provided when we presented our strategy, 4%-6%. So this is within the strategic bandwidth that we presented at that moment in time. We are looking at H1 and some de-risking activities that we still need to do within the portfolio, as mentioned before. So in that context and with the results of H1, at this moment in time, we feel comfortable with the 4%-5%. Okay. Thanks. Then a follow-up question on Netherlands construction and property margins. Martijn asks why the margin is still, let's say, in his perception, downbeat, despite stable housing sales. Yeah, we think the profitability there is, let's say, in line with what we used to see there in the past. So we don't see, we don't recognize their low-beat profitability. I think the extension of the home sales in the H1 year is supporting the results of the Dutch division pretty substantially. Yeah. Also, year-over-year, if you compare it, but also taking into account the comment that was made on the schools in Denmark, there was some headwind in construction and property, were solely included in Netherlands. Yeah, in the Netherlands. Yeah. If you're correct for that, we're pretty happy with the performance on the residential side. Okay. And do you still see green shoots in the Dutch residential market? Upside potential in the Dutch residential market or with the change in cabinet? Yeah, of course, we'll have to see. Yeah, mid- to long-term, the fact is that there is a strong demand for homes, affordable homes in the Netherlands. And that's only increasing, I think, over the last period. I see positive plans by the new government coming in, in their Hoofdlijnenakkoord, in good Dutch. So there is, I think the plans are on the table. It's more about execution. Long-term, we are positive because in the end, this demand needs to be fulfilled. The million houses that are mentioned can also be 800,000, but for, let's say, the next 10 years, that demand is there. And BAM can provide these affordable homes starting by the back of this year in our wooden concept, so also in a sustainable way. So that opportunity will be very positive for BAM results in the future. I think the market bottomed out end 2023, beginning of 2024. You see also that in the increase of our sold homes in the H1 year, but the opportunity is much bigger. That's also clear. Yeah. But it's not that you now see a further acceleration from the start of this year. Well, that's difficult to say. For the full year, we expect 1,700 homes. So you see, we are still conservative in our expectation for the full year. And that has to do with the fact that indeed it's still difficult in this country to get permits in time, infrastructure in time, yeah, to start building, to start building homes. So indeed, good improvement over the last year in home sales in the H1 year. But yeah, let's stay realistic, and that's why we mentioned the 1,700 homes. Okay. For now, final question on Ireland. There was a claim collection supporting the results. So excluding that claim collection, the margin was a bit more. No, there was a claim. Indeed, we had a settlement on New Children's Hospital on a claim. That amount was also in the news, EUR 107 million. Majority of that is related to subcontractor cost and own cost. And then we had a healthy normal margin on the variation order that we brought to the P&L. Okay. Clear. It did help, of course. All right. Let me continue. Thank you, Midas from Kepler Cheuvreux. Thanks for taking my questions. Then we maybe continue with the housing production. So you're guiding 4,700 homes. That basically means that you expect a similar performance in H2 compared to H1. So this year, no spike in Q4 that you usually have, or is it just because you want to be a bit more cautious with the potential to go higher than the 1,700? Yeah, that's difficult to say. Like I said before, of course, the H1 year was much better than last year. So that gives hope for the second half year. But indeed, we also saw the spike in Q4 last year. And that spike is very difficult to predict, of course. It's still a commercial process. So again, I think it's realistic and wise to, at this moment in time, to expect kind of the same performance in the second half year than in the H1 year. Okay. And then maybe also about Ireland. So the settlement of the claims, I guess, is a good sign. Does it also mean that the risk that relates to that project is significantly decreased and that we don't have to expect any negative news coming from Ireland anymore? It's a significant step because it's not only the EUR 107 million, it's also an important time extension we got for the project by the independent conciliator. We are now over 90% completion. So the risk is decreasing day by day by default because of that finalizing process that we are in at this moment in time. Still a complex project, but if you look at the results and if you look at the building already now, it's really an amazing project and it's a fantastic hospital. It's probably one of the best hospitals for children in the world. So we are very proud of the team. We are finalizing. This was a very significant step for us, proving that we're doing a good job. And of course, there's a lot of negative publicity by, let's say, the customer about BAM, but I think we can be extremely proud. Our team had the perseverance to just work through. At the end, this will be an amazing hospital for the children of Ireland. On our side, indeed, risk is coming down day by day. We hope to finalize, we will finalize the project in H1 of 2025. Okay, great. That brings me to my next question. It's actually, well, since I remember, one of the first times that you mentioned legacy projects in the press release and give us an update. So that's very helpful. Thanks for that. For Fehmarnbelt, you mentioned 2030 as the target finalization date. But for the other projects, you don't mention a desired year when or the targeted year when it's wrapped up. We mentioned they are all above 80%. Is it fair to assume that everything goes well, which obviously you can't predict? We can expect the finalization within the next two years for the other projects. Is that realistic? We think earlier. Earlier. Okay. So I think we feel more comfortable. I think you recognize that because indeed, when we started four years ago with our strategy, we had a list of more than 20 of these projects. So it was very difficult in these kind of meetings to discuss them. Now it's in a completely different world. So now we can say this is the list. It's in the press release. And most of these projects will be finalized in a year from now. But we're also very clear about the project Fehmarnbelt, which has a completion date 2030. So that will be in the portfolio for several years to come. But it's a completely different portfolio than four years ago. Because all the projects you mentioned in the press release, also including the Denmark projects and the Co-op arena, these are all the projects from the legacy portfolio. There's nothing else. Yeah. So I mean, the projects, the two schools in Denmark and the Co-op project will be completed this year. Then you have the three other ones that Ruud mentioned, Brisbane, NCH, and Silvertown, completed next year. And then indeed, Fehmarnbelt remaining. That's the rundown of the tail end of the project list that you guys asked many times for in the past years. Thanks for delivering it. Yeah. Okay. I have some other questions, but I first will pass on and ask the other ones later. Yeah. I will do a follow-up then. Thijs Berkelder again. On your legacy projects, you're saying that these three projects are progressing well, but I'm not seeing at the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel that is progressing well. So it's that on purpose. The reflection we made was starting 2020 is a long list, circa 20 projects. We have three projects in there that are progressing well and nearing completion next year. Yeah, the FLC is progressing, but we just started there. So it's in a different phase, clearly, than the other ones that are nearing completion. This is starting up towards end of construction now scheduled 2030. So it's not comparable with the other three. But the startup, in your view, is according to plan or? Yeah, the plan is to have the first immersion of the first part of the tunnel, the first 200 meters by the end of this year. And that shows you that it's really the start of the project. But it's a very complex and huge project. It's an 18-kilometer tunnel between two countries with a very special technology. So let's not speculate on where we are. The factory is in place to build these elements. But again, the first immersion will only happen by the end of this year. So we are close on it. You can follow the project on the internet, independent internet site. It's really amazing to see what's happening there. But again, it's the beginning of a long and complex project. Yeah. No, I know. There are more companies involved. Yeah, yeah. We We have 12.5%. We used to have 25% before we sold Wayss & Freytag. So we are now at a, well, a relatively small percentage of 12.5%. Yeah. Then in the main part of the press release, you're talking about regarding expansion. BAM is growing in grids and EV charging solutions. Just from my understanding, you're growing in grids; is that high voltage, mid voltage, or more last mile grids? How should I see that, your role? Yeah, we are in all these mentioned segments. So for example, we build land stations for sea wind mill farms that come in on sea from sea in high voltage. And then it's distributed to the local suppliers where we're also very much involved in the low voltage and mid voltage grids. So this is an integral approach from BAM to the electrification market. That market's growing fast, but in EV charging, are you also seeing there now a kind of slowdown similar to? Well, the Netherlands is by far, let's say, the most developed there in Europe even. So that's different than the UK, where the opportunity is still much bigger. Yeah. It's a stable baseline of work, I would say. Okay. And you also had quite some business in fiber rollouts, I've understood, or is that small on the total? It's part of the specials in the Netherlands. Of course, you see in the Netherlands now that also there, the Netherlands is most developed with fiber to the home. Still attractive market for us at this moment in time, but you see that easing off over the next couple of years in the Netherlands. Yeah. Maturing of the market is clearly visible. Yeah. Coming back on the new Dutch government, are you sort of in talks with the government on accelerating the process? Is that different/better than before, or can you give any comments there on? Well, in all fairness, I think the new government is still settling in. The new ministers are settling in. And of course, like I said before, that Hoofdlijnenakkoord and the program looks promising. But I think they're in the phase now to settle in and probably after summer come with more pragmatic or real actionable plans to the market. So we give them some time to contact them and to start working together on all these plans because we need speed. We need speed in home building and infrastructure in both the UK and the Netherlands. And of course, we also use our BAM and Netherlands organization to have for the whole market, for the whole sector to have discussions with The Hague on that one. But also as BAM individually, we will contact and have these contacts like we had with previous ministers. Looking at your sector from a staffing perspective, is that becoming easier because of, let's say, other sectors heading for a downturn? No, we still have a lot of vacancies. It's really difficult to attract people and to retain them. So that's a very important point for us, making the right culture in the company and making sure that people want to work with us, but also want to stay with BAM. But yeah, there's a lot of competition. So it's hard work to fill those vacancies. Still, we don't see that easing off. Some follow-up questions, especially with regards to UK. So taking Construction UK a bit aside due to the Co-op arena, but looking at the other divisions, I think the margins were pretty good, actually better than the previous periods. Was that one-hit wonder? Is that the baseline that you want to go to? Because I mean, all of them are above the 5% mark. Ventures UK, again, over 10%, although you guided a bit for somewhat weaker results compared to last year. So how should we view that? Is that exceptionally good H1 and then H2 back to normalization, or are we seeing sustainable margin levels there? No, I think it's the right conclusion that indeed Civil, Ventures, and Ireland performed really well. So we're really pleased with that. There are no big one-offs in there. So I think it's a very solid performance. You do see in a construction firm that timing is of the essence. Sometimes you have some headwinds you see on Co-op in the end of the project. You have a setback. And sometimes you have positive settlements like NCH in the tail end, helping Ireland. You will always see that in a portfolio of construction company. You always have pluses and minuses. We're happy with the overall result. And it's really nice to see that these three segments perform well. Yeah. Because if I look at UK, it always used to be weaker than the Netherlands on the Adjusted EBITDA margin level. You also mentioned it has to do with some accounting rules. No, yeah. But if we go to, let's say, 5% overall in the UK. No, I think you have to, it's a fair remark. There's a structural element in there because in the Netherlands, we do property development and we have more joint ventures. So the EBITDA in the Netherlands is typically a bit higher than in the UK. Yeah, if you look at it from a net result perspective, the divisions are really nicely balanced. We saw that previous year and we see that now again. So yeah, we give overall guidance on EBITDA for the company, but on net result basis, those divisions are really nice on par, I would say. Okay. Then the order book in the UK grew very nicely by 22%. You also mentioned that one element in there is office project. Is that a trend you see that offices are coming back because it used to be one of the weaker markets in construction, or is that just an exceptional project that you won, but you don't see an overall improvement in offices and commercial construction? No, the UK, the increase of the order book is mainly in the infrastructure part of the business where we see big wins and big electrification projects, which is exactly where we want to be in rail as well. We still see weakness in the commercial market, commercial construction. Same as in the Netherlands, hesitation of customers. So sometimes you have a big tender coming in, that's true. But overall, the segment is still weak and people are hesitating about new offices, for example. So what we are focusing on in that segment is healthcare, education, where we see indeed plans of the government to invest heavily. So there we see that uptick coming probably when the new governments are coming in. And especially in the UK, I think the Labour Party winning the elections have their focus point, especially on education. I think there we are in a very good spot with our experience and skills and capabilities in education to profit in the coming years. Okay, great. Then two more questions and then that's it from my side. One is recurring revenues. Any developments there? Did you see a further increase in recurring revenues? Anything to report from your side? I don't see a big change there, I think, compared to former or earlier quarters. I think the portfolio of the business is relatively the same. So I don't see big changes there. I think the growth in the UK was also driven by civil, which are typically multi-year projects. So it has a bit of a longer horizon, but it's not, yeah, repetitive frameworks, but it's large projects that support revenues for the coming years as a nice baseline. Yeah. That's a good one. I think when you look at recurring, for example, our connection with some of these customers like SSE, but also the rail network is in a way very continuous. And you see projects coming in on a very regular basis. Is that recurring business? Maybe a definition question. Yeah. Okay, cool. Then one last question with regards to your trade working capital. So quite a further step towards normalization, I would say. Can we expect the level that you are aiming for? So you were guiding for roughly 10%, now -10% trade working capital. Now we had 11.5, I think. 11.3. 11.3, sorry. No, you're fine. By the end of the year, we have reached the 10% and then. No, so the guidance we gave, so first of all, it's difficult to predict trade working capital. So it's always within what we now know and see. Last year, we said we'll see a normalization of another 1%-2% to around -11%. And that's what I would repeat today. As a company, we want to be better than -10%, which -11% is. And as we now see it, we think we will stabilize going forward around -11%. Okay. And also not with increasing residential activities, you don't see uptick in prepayments again, which then would. It's always a mix because you have so many moving parts in there. Also, interest rates have an impact because customer behavior then moves in the other direction with higher interest rates. So it's in the mix of everything we feel around -11% to be a good proxy. Okay, great. Then that's it from me. Thanks. Thank you. With this, I think we can finalize the call. Thank you for your attention and see you next time. Thank you. Thank you.