Toll-road group posts profits of €155m

The Spanish group that holds a majority stake in the company that operates the Kilcock-Kinnegad toll road had profits of €155 million last year.

Cintra, the road-building and car-park specialist, said turnover was €884.7 million in 2006, a 27.1 per cent increase on the previous year.

Net profit for the year was €155 million. Its sales and profits come largely from operating toll roads and car parks in Europe and the Americas.

The company did not reveal revenues or profits for its Irish operation, Eurolink Motorway Operation Ltd. However, it did value that company's assets - the toll road - at €38 million, which is just over 2 per cent of group assets.

The latest figures for Eurolink show that it had an operating loss of €2.37 million in 2005.

However, this figure only covers the first two weeks of the Kilcock-Kinnegad route's operation - it opened on December 16th of that year - and does not reflect how it would have subsequently performed during 2006.

Eurolink is a partnership between Cintra and Siac, one of the biggest civil engineering and construction companies in the State. The Spanish company holds 65 per cent of Eurolink.

In 2006, the National Roads Authority selected the partnership to design, build and operate the €600 million Clonee-North Kells toll road section of the M3 motorway. It will have a concession for 45 years.

Cintra is a spin-off from Spanish civil engineering giant Ferrovial. It operates a number of major toll roads in Indiana and Chicago in the US, and was recently awarded a €1.5 billion project in Greece.