SMC SLEX Inc., formerly South Luzon Tollways Corp., said net income rose by 84 percent in the first half of the year due to a gradual increase in the number of vehicle traffic.
The tollway unit of San Miguel Corp. said net income amounted to P1.31 billion in the January-to-June period, up from P713.3 million in the same period last year.
The company said toll revenue in the first half of the year rose 35 percent to P2.67 billion from last year’s P1.98 billion, reflecting the improvement in traffic volume this year compared to the previous year.
SMC SLEX said the increase mainly showed the impact of the shorter length of the ECQ restrictions of only for 15 days in the first half of 2021 compared to 76 days in the same period in 2020.
“SLEX traffic volume in the first half of 2021 has been showing gradual recovery since the start of the year, and has already started to catch up to pre-COVID-19 levels,” the company said.
“This was mainly driven by the expansion of industrial areas in Southern Luzon which is part of the government’s continuous support in the decentralization drive to stimulate business activities outside the National Capital Region,” it added.
SMC SLEX earlier said it allotted P5.44 billion in capital budget this year, with P4.6 billion earmarked for the Toll Road 4 or (TR4) Project.
The TR4 includes a four-lane toll road from Sto. Tomas in Batangas to Lucena Quezon and the SLEX widening project.
The P26.1-billion toll road will shorten the travel time from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Barangay Mayao in Lucena City from the usual three hours to just 45 minutes.
The project is expected to be completed in 2024.
TR4 is a part of SLTC’s 30-year concession that will last until 2036.
The capital expenditure will also finance the tollway facility improvement, replacement of various toll equipment and preventive maintenance for toll collection system/network enhancement project.
