“GAM wants to play to be the leader in Latin America”

GAM is one of those companies with a thermometer to measure the progress of the economy. You only have to count the number of excavators, cranes, trucks and wheelbarrows that are put into operation every day. It is dedicated to precisely that, to industrial machinery, a business in which it is the leader in Spain, with 30,000 operating teams, 1,500 employees, more than 220 million euros of annual turnover and a presence on the stock markets. Its president and CEO, Pedro Luis Fernández, assures that the next step is to seek leadership in Latin America.

What does GAM contribute?

We buy industrial machines to manage and rent them to customers. It is a very clear macro trend: cars and houses are renting more and more.

Do customers prefer not to own the machines?

We allow clients to dedicate more and more to their business and outsource the rest. This model, when things get tough, is more competitive because companies need to focus all their resources. We as a company will solve the below. It makes all the sense. We are on the side of opportunities.

How was the experience with the pandemic?

During the pandemic we had no treasury problems. We made an expense adjustment and, since we had recurring income, we more or less got through it well.

In the financial aspect, does the machinery work?

We have received a loan of 35 million from the EIB with the aim of diversifying the sources of financing. We want to diversify the way in which we access resources, continue to electrify our fleet and advance in digitization.

And how has the year of the invasion of Ukraine gone?

2022 has gone well. As a company we had never experienced such inflation or a shortage of supplies and machines, but we have grown by 33%. All the lines have improved, as well as the results.

You can know which sectors work well.

Yes, we are very diversified. There are some who possibly brake. The real estate sector, for example, is suffering. Then there are logistics and the food industry, which is very important in Spain. The heavy industry and the automotive industry are having difficulties.

And have you also noticed geographic trends?

Latin America has done well. Our strategy in the coming years is not to open new markets, but to strengthen ourselves in the ones we are in. There are markets in which we have to have a greater impact and in which we aspire to leadership.

Organic growth or with purchases?

Double-digit organic growth, and we are very attentive to any corporate operation. Spain is a very fragmented market and it would make sense, but we are especially attentive to Latin America.

What are you going to do there?

We have never carried out a significant operation outside of Spain, where we need size. It is the moment in which we can approach it. We are looking for opportunities in the Mexican market, which would give us a new company profile. We seek a certain geographical balance. Right now Spain weighs a lot.

Is Latin America the great opportunity?

We believe so. We want to play at being the leader in Latin America. The one in Mexico would be our biggest acquisition outside of Spain. In recent years we have learned a lot and consolidated the business. Now a corporate operation in Latin America makes sense. We will proceed cautiously, but with determination.

Are there consolidation opportunities in Europe?

In Europe, the leader is the French LoxamHune, while we are in Spain. Our vision is that the European market will continue to consolidate because it is a highly fragmented industry and it makes sense. They will end up producing many small operations and there will end up being a market with large operators and other smaller ones on a local scale.

Is it possible to quantify the market in Spain?

It is not very transparent, but estimates can be made, and it would be between 4,000 and 5,000 million euros, depending on how you configure it and the type of machinery. And we, being the leaders, are at 220 million, so there is a great opportunity.

What are growth vectors?

Digitization and robotization are two very clear trends. Also, that Spain is one of the European countries with the least rental penetration. Almost all the machines operate on a property basis, and we are going to pay for use, as in the Anglo-Saxon and northern countries.

You have as your main shareholder the Riberas family, owner of Gestamp or Gonvarri.

We did a capital increase in 2018 and since then we have had no changes. We are calm. We have a very significant shareholding strength, which allows us to manage the company looking to the future.

Do you plan to incorporate new shareholders?

We have a solid shareholding base of between 60% and 70%, and the rest is listed on the market. One of the challenges for the future is to be more active in order to provide liquidity to the shares and to make small shareholders feel comfortable.

Will they distribute dividends?

You have to aspire to that, it would be the healthiest thing to show that we are a normalized company. We have already been the company that has grown the most this year in profits.

What do you think of European funds?

If you take the Next Generation data and impact it on our GDP, it should have a tremendous impact on the economy as a whole. I remember that the arrival of the European Union cohesion funds in Spain transformed our economy, and now good years should come.

But instead, the money is delayed.

There is a very large opacity. Years go by and one does not know if this is going to fall on the ideological or economic side. It bothers me a lot that time passes and we still don’t know anything about anything. I can only be tremendously critical because we are playing a lot, and one can fall into the temptation that this is handled with ideological criteria.

Any Particularly slow?

We have participated in five or six expressions of interest and in all of them we are doing the same as two years ago, with no new developments. Zero advance. And when I talk to many entrepreneurs about this issue, the feeling is this. Except in the automotive industry, in the rest of the Government parts we see nothing.

Do you also expect EU credits this year?

The delivery of the credits agreed with the EU must be expedited so that they reach the economy. Spain is a country of many SMEs, and these resources must end up landing in the companies as soon as possible.