Durrant Pate/Contributor

Jamaica’s toll road operator, TransJamaican Highway Limited (TJH) is seeking increased profitability, as a result of greater traffic flow on the toll roads.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2024, TJH recorded revenues of US$19.9 million, reflecting a nine per cent increase of US$1.7 million, compared to revenues of US$18.2 million for the comparative quarter in 2023. Revenue for the six-month period closed on US$39.7 million, up US$3.5 million when compared to the US$36.2 million earned for the same period in 2023.

This increase was due to greater levels of traffic over the previous year in addition to movements in the toll tariff, which is reviewed annually. For the quarter, pre-tax was US$9.3 million, reflecting an increase of US$1.3 million when compared to the US$8 million booked in 2023. 

This increase in profitability mainly resulted from higher revenues for the quarter and was partially offset by the cost factors. Pre-tax profit for the half-year closed on US$18.5 million and reflects an increase of US$3.8 million, compared to pre-tax profit of US$14.7 million for the same period in 2023.

Net profit being total comprehensive income for the quarter was US$7 million, a 16 per cent increase over the US$6 million booked for 2023. This was after recognizing corporate and deferred tax charges of US$2.3 million. 

For the half-year net profit closed at US$13.9 million, up US$2.9 million over the US$11 million recorded for the comparative six-month period in 2023. This was after recognizing corporate and deferred tax charges of US$4.5 million. 

Other gains and losses 

For the June quarter, TJH had other gains of US$0.73 million, reflecting a contraction of US$0.19 million compared to other gains of US$0.92 million for 2023. This was partially due to lower foreign exchange gains emanating from the revaluation of the 8.0 per cent (JMD) Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares and the toll reconciliation process.

This was also offset by higher interest earned on the placement of funds held in the reserve accounts for the period. Other gains for the six-month period amounted to US$2 million, reflecting an increase of US$1.2 million, compared to US$0.8 million for the same period in 2023, and was mainly due to interest earned on investment activities. 

TJH incurred operating expenses of US$5.3 million, down by US$0.2 million when compared to the US$5.5 million incurred for the same quarter in 2023. For the six-month period, operating expenses closed on US$11.4 million compared to US$11 million incurred in 2023 and were primarily impacted by higher Intangibles amortization and security cost during the period. 

Higher admin expenses

This was also offset by lower maintenance activities over the period. Admin expenses comprising primarily of staff costs, depreciation of plant and equipment and other routine office expenses, climbed to US$2.5 million, up by US$0.5 million, compared to US$2 million for 2023.

This was primarily due to salary changes resulting from the restructuring exercise and annual inflationary increases. For the six-month period, administrative expenses were US$4.8 million, reflecting an increase of US$0.7 million, over administrative expenses of US$4.1 million for 2023. 

Total assets were flat

Total assets for the group, which mainly includes Intangible assets, deferred tax and cash, amounted to US$290 million, the same as of December 31, 2023. Primary movements over the period were attributed to an increase in ‘Cash and Bank’. This was also offset by further amortisation of the intangible asset and further usage of the deferred tax asset. 

As at June 30, 2024, share capital remained at US$27 million while retained earnings increased to US$28 million, up from US$22 million as at December 31, 2023. This was primarily attributable to net income generated over this first and second quarter and reduced by an earlier declaration of a dividend of US$7.5 million in March 2024 for which payment was made in April 2024. 

TJH liabilities consisted mainly of long-term debts, provisions and other trade-related payables stood at US$234 million, reflecting a decrease of US$7 million, compared to total liabilities of US$241 million as of December 31, 2023. This was primarily due to the principal repayment made on the secured notes and a lower corporate tax payable.