Tollway operator’s first-sem profits dip

MANILA, Philippines—The profits of highway operator Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. slipped four percent in the first half of the year due to lower-than-expected traffic growth and higher tax payments during the period.

In a statement, MPTC, a unit of Manuel V. Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Investments Corp., said its net income settled at P725 million in the January to June period.

This followed the lapse of the company’s six-year corporate income tax holiday. The company said it was also hit by rising fuel prices, which led people to use public transport instead of bringing their cars.

But company officials said they remained optimistic that the company’s financial performance will improve, noting the recent inclusion of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway to its portfolio of businesses.

“Though traffic demand could be lower given sharp increases in fuel prices and the expiration of MNTC’s (Manila North Tollways Corp.) income tax holiday, MPTC still expects a strong financial performance this year with the increase in toll rates and modest traffic volume growth,” MPTC president Ramoncito Fernandez said in a statement.

Aside from SCTEx, MPTC operates the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx). This makes the company the country’s largest toll road operator.