MPTC first-half profit rises 6% to P3.71 billion
Key Takeaways
- •MPTC's attributable net income increased 6% year on year to P3.71 billion in the first half, supported by a 7.7% rise in total revenues to P20.53 billion.
- •Revenue growth was driven by toll-rate adjustments approved by the Toll Regulatory Board, even as domestic traffic declined 1% amid the fuel crisis.
- •Domestic operations, comprising NLEX, SCTEX, CAVITEX and CALAX, accounted for 93% of MPTC's toll revenues during the period.
- •Average daily vehicle entries in international operations, primarily Indonesia, rose 1.8% to about 1.74 million as congestion from arterial road repairs shifted motorists to toll roads.
- •Operating revenues of P19.60 billion represented about 95.5% of the total, while non-toll revenues slipped 1.3% to P930 million.
PANGILINAN-LED Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), one of the Philippines' largest tollway operators, reported a 6% increase in attributable net income to P3.71 billion in the first half, supported by higher operating revenues.
For the January-to-June period, the tollway arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) said total revenues rose 7.7% to P20.53 billion from P19.06 billion a year earlier, according to its financial report released on Wednesday.
Operating revenues made up the bulk of the total at P19.60 billion, or about 95.5%. Non-toll revenues declined 1.3% to P930 million from P942 million a year earlier.
The company said revenue growth was driven by approved toll-rate adjustments. Toll rates in the Philippines are regulated, and increases take effect only after approval from the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), making such cleared adjustments a significant revenue lever for tollway operators. It added that revenues increased even as domestic traffic declined amid the fuel crisis.
Domestic operations, which include the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) and Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX), accounted for 93% of MPTC's toll revenues during the period.
Average daily vehicle entries in domestic operations slipped 1% to 715,000 from 722,000 a year earlier.
By contrast, average daily vehicle entries in MPTC's international operations, which include its toll roads in Indonesia, rose 1.8% to about 1.74 million from 1.71 million in the same period last year.
"The increase in traffic from international operations particularly in Indonesia was mainly due to congestion in the arterial roads as a result of the road repairs, thus, several motorists shifted to our toll roads," MPTC said.
MPTC is the tollway arm of MPIC, one of the Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., alongside Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.
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