NLEX Corp. said over the weekend its net income rose by 38 percent in the first quarter driven by traffic recovery and an increase in toll rates.
The operator of North Luzon Expressway and Subic Clark-Tarlac Expressway posted an income of P2.1 billion in the January to March period, higher than the P1.5 billion income in the same period last year.
The company recorded revenues amounting to P5.1 billion, 31 percent higher than the first quarter of 2022 due to stronger travel demand and higher toll rates implemented in May and June 2022.
The company’s operating revenues are generated mainly from toll fees collected in NLEX and SCTEX, which, on the aggregate, accounted for 99 percent of total revenues for the quarter.
Non-toll revenues, which consist of fees collected from toll service facilities as well as utility companies utilizing NLEX right of way, accounted for 1 percent of the total for the quarter.
All vehicle classes posted double-digit growth in revenues with Class 1 revenues growing by 21 percent, Class 2 by 40 percent, and Class 3 by 31 percent.
This is partly due to the base effect of mobility restrictions still enforced during the first quarter of 2022.
As of March, average daily traffic for the NLEX reached 320,863 daily vehicle entries, higher than 2022 figures by 20 percent, while average daily traffic in SCTEX reached 80,261 daily vehicle entries or 23 percent above last year’s figures covering the same three-month period. Darwin G. Amojelar