Latin America’s top 50 construction companies ranked

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The combined revenue of Latin America’s top 50 contractors increased by 20% during 2022, as construction companies in the region staged a continued recovery after years of decline.

The finding comes as part of the CLA50 ranking, prepared by The Construction Briefing’s sister publication, Construcción Latinoamericana.

It was the second consecutive year of substantial growth for Latin America’s 50 biggest contractors, with their collective revenue climbing to US$27.7 billion during the year.

The performance is a marked change from the 2013-2019 period when there were consistent declines in revenue for top contractors, and signals a more stable period of growth across Latin America.

A total of 36 companies increased revenue in 2022, according to Construcción Latinoamericana’s analysis, with some contractors making notable gains.

Among them was Portuguese-owned Mota-Engil E&C, which has experienced an impressive jump, going from US$652.6 million in 2021 to US$1.6 billion in 2022, rising four positions to fourth place.

Mota-Engil’s growth follows the acquisition of a 32.4% stake in the business by China Communications Company (CCCC) in May 2021. CCCC is itself the world’s fourth-largest construction company, according to the latest International Construction Top 200.

Meanwhile, Brazilian company OEC, also entered the Top 10, climbing five positions to ninth place.

Country by country

When it came to how construction companies performed by the country where they are based, this year’s ranking is again led by Chile.

That was despite having lost a representative due to the bankruptcy of Claro Vicuña Valenzuela, which collapsed last year under debts of more than $44 billion.

Chile has nine companies on the list and together they achieved revenues of US$7.6 billion, representing 27.4% of the total.

More than 50% of Chilean companies’ revenue were generated by one company alone: Sigdo Koppers. It therefore comes as no surprise that Sigdo Koppers tops the CLA50 list overall. The conglomerate operates across five continents specialising in industrial construction, transport and logistics, mining, and machinery rental and distribution.

Sigdo Koppers experienced growth of 27.4%, with revenue approaching US$4 billion in 2022.

Brazil, with the inclusion of Construtora Barbosa Mello in position 31, has added a new company to the CLA50 and has 20 companies listed in this edition. The South American giant’s income reached US$7.2 billion (26.1% of the total), closely following Chile.

Third place is occupied by Mexico in 2022, moving Spain to fourth place. Five Mexican companies saw growth in 2023, with Carso enjoying a strong increase in revenue of 52.4%. In total revenue from Mexican companies grew to US$3.4 billion.

Top 10

The Top 10 of the CLA50 saw multiple companies swapping places in the rankings. Only three maintained the same position as last year, although for the most part the same companies remained in this select group.

First and second place stay in the hands of Sigdo Koppers and Sacyr respectively, with Sigdo Koppers substantially ahead of its Spanish-owned counterpart. Techint also retained its fifth place.

Third position went to Carso, whose income exceeded US$1.9 billion, which allowed it to advance one place in the ranking. In fourth place was Mota Engil E&C, whose revenue in Latin America grew a staggering 145.3% from 2021 to 2022.

The only company in the Top 10 that saw a decline in its revenue in 2022 was the Brazilian MRV Engenharia, and although this drop was only a 6.5%, this caused it to lose three places to sixth place.

The Peruvian company Aenza and the Chilean firms Salfacorp and Besalco fell one place to seventh, eighth and tenth position, respectively.

The two significant changes in this year’s Top 10 include the emergence of OEC at number nine and the departure of Echeverría Izquierdo. Despite experiencing a growth of 25.6% in 2022 and generating revenue of US$621.8 million, the Chilean company failed to maintain its position among the top ten construction companies in the region.

In summary, the 2022’s CLA50 reflects a year of recovery in the construction industry in Latin America, marked by solid growth in total revenues. However, challenges remain due to economic and political uncertainty in the region. Chile’s leadership, Brazil’s growth and the rise of new companies are notable trends that we will keep under observation in the coming years.