NLEX Corp. reported net income growing 38 percent in the first quarter of the year, driven higher by traffic recovery and adjustments in toll rates.
The operator of North Luzon Expressway and Subic Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) posted income of P2.1 billion in the January-to-March period, higher than only P1.5 billion in the same period last year.
The company posted revenue amounting to P5.1 billion, 31 percent higher than 2022 figures due to stronger travel and higher toll rates implemented in May and June 2022.
Its operating revenues are generated mainly from toll fees collected at NLEX and SCTEX that on the aggregate accounted for 99 percent of total revenue for the quarter.
Non-toll revenue, which consists of fees collected from toll service facilities and from utility companies using NLEX right of way, accounted for 1 percent of the total for the quarter.
All vehicle classes posted double digit revenue growth with Class 1 revenue growing by 21 percent, Class 2 by 40 percent and Class 3 by 31 percent. This was partly due to the base effect of mobility restrictions still enforced in the first quarter of 2022.
As of March, the average daily traffic count at NLEX total 320,863 daily vehicle entries, higher than 2022 figures by 20 percent, while average daily traffic in SCTEX total 80,261 daily vehicle entries or 23 percent above last year’s figures covering the same three-month period.
Concession fees of P488 million pertain to fees paid to Bases Conversion and Development Authority, representing 50 percent of toll revenues in SCTEX.
As of the first quarter of 2023, concession fees increased 53 percent versus the same period in 2022, driven by higher toll revenue in SCTEX.
NLEX spans 105 kilometers or 598 lane-kms and rated the main infrastructure backbone connecting Metro Manila to central and northern Luzon while SCTEX is a 93.77-kilometer, four-lane highway traversing the provinces of Bataan, Pampanga and Tarlac.
