NLEX earnings rise 20% in Q1

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) unit NLEX Corp. saw its net profit rise 20 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, driven by higher revenues from North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).

In a filing, NLEX said it posted a net income of P1.29 billion as of end-March, up from P1.07 billion in the same period last year.

“Income growth was driven by higher toll revenues from NLEX and SCTEX during the period which grew by 16 percent on the back of sustained traffic growth across NLEX and SCTEX,” NLEX said.

Toll revenues rose to P3.19 billion from P2.74 billion a year ago.

Average daily traffic for the 95-kilometer (km) NLEX which covers Metro Manila to Central and Northern Luzon reached 250,989 daily vehicle entries, 9.3 percent higher year-on-year.

The 94-km SCTEX spanning Subic-Tipo in Olongapo, Zambales to La Paz, Tarlac, also posted 17 percent year-on-year increase in average daily traffic to 59,812.

Apart from toll operations, NLEX Corp. also generates revenues from advertising materials and structures, toll service facilities and rental income from toll service facilities.

Non-toll revenues declined nine percent to P43.4 million due to lower revenues generated from toll service and utility facilities during the period,” NLEX Corp. said.

Costs of services which covered costs of toll operations, asset preservation and safety enhancements also grew three percent to P1.12 billion.

In addition to tollways, MPIC is involved in other businesses like water, power, hospitals, rail and logistics.