METRO Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), the infrastructure arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), reported a 4-percent drop in net income in the first six months of the year to P539 million from P561 million in the same period a year ago.
Its core profit also declined by 4 percent to P725 million from the P752 million as the company noted that it is no longer exempted from paying taxes. “The tax holiday period has expired for the toll operations in December 2010. Considering that 2011 results will get affected by the expiry of this tax holiday, the company’s core net income was slightly lower by 4 percent,” it said in a statement.
Revenues from January to June this year increased by 12 percent to P3.27 billion, owing to higher toll collection by its unit Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) and higher profit contribution of Tollways Management Corp. (TMC).
MNTC holds the concession to operate and maintain North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and is owned 67.1 percent by MPTC. TMC, meanwhile, operates the NLEX for MNTC and has an interim agreement to operate and maintain Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and is owned 46 percent by MPTC.
MNTC said traffic at Nlex rose by 1 percent to 159,753 vehicles a day from 158,844 vehicles in the same period last year. This boosted revenues by 12 percent to P3.27 billion for the period but an increase in income tax provisions affected its bottomline. It posted a 9-percent drop in profit to P735 million in end-June.
MNTC is busy developing Phase 2 of NLEX. It is set to complete the detailed engineering designs for the NLEX Harbor Link, which includes Segment 9, a P1.7-billion 2.4-kilometer (km) road extending NLEX westward from the end of Segment 8.1 to MacArthur highway in Valenzuela City, and Segment 10, a P6.3 billion 5.6-km road connecting Segment 9 and the entire NLEX system to the North Harbor via C-3 Road. Legal issues pertaining to right-of-way for Segment 9 have been identified for resolution.
MNTC recently inked an agreement with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority for the management and operation of SCTEX. Effective date of the agreement is subject to certain regulatory approvals. Upon turnover, the MNTC will commence the integration of NLEX and SCTEX. These two will aggregate 200 km and will represent the largest tollway system in the country.
MPTC president Ramoncito Fernandez said the company still expects to post a strong financial performance this year on the back of increased toll rates and a modest traffic volume growth even if fuel prices are rising.
“For our customers, we shall continue to live up to what we have been known for—superior quality of roads and excellent customer service for a safe and comfortable travel,” he added.
(Miguel R. Camus)
