MPTC seen falling short of P7-B income target

CEBU, Philippines - Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), the toll road division of listed holding firm Metro Pacific Investments Corp., is likely to fall short of its 2011 income target of P7 billion due to lower traffic volume amid high fuel prices.

MPTC chief finance officer Christopher Daniel C. Lizo said inclement weather conditions and higher toll fees have likewise affected traffic volume.

Lizo, however, said the company is optimistic toll revenues would hit an all-time high this year from the record P5.86 billion in 2010.

In 2010, MPTC reported a net income of P996.49 million, up 71.3 percent from P581.65 million.

MPTC operates and maintains the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and has an agreement to operate and maintain the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), which is owned by the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA).

With the NLEX and SCTEX in its toll road portfolio, MPTC is currently the biggest toll road developer in the country with more than 800 lane-kilometers of toll roads under its management.

The NLEX is the main infrastructure backbone that connects Metro Manila to 15 million people in Central and Northern Luzon, especially its key cities of Angeles and San Fernando in the province of Pampanga.

The SCTEX, on the other hand, is the country’s longest expressway at 93.77 kilometers, seeking to transform the Central Luzon region into a world-class logistics hub in the Asia-Pacific through the integration of economic activities in the Subic Bay Freeport the Clark Freeport Zone, and the Central Techno Park in Tarlac, and by linking major infrastructures such as the seaport in Subic and the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark.

In the six months ending June this year, MPTC’s profit fell four percent to P539 million from P561 million in the same period in 2010, mainly because of the expiration of its tax holiday.