Road and waste sectors drive NTR profits up by 20%

NTR said toll income should be boosted next year when the second West-Link bridge on the M50 becomes operational. Construction has reached the half-way stage and it should be up and running in the third quarter.

A strong performance from its road and waste management businesses has helped NTR, the public infrastructure operator, to record a 20 per cent increase in first-half profits.

The company reported pre-tax profits of €9.14 million in the six months to June 30th, while revenues were up by 58 per cent to €60.5 million. Its toll operations, the East-Link and West-Link bridges in Dublin, added €10.2 million to profits in the first half.

Traffic at the West Link increased by 6.5 per cent to 13.2 million vehicles with toll income up by 13 per cent to €18 million.

But congestion on the eastern side of Dublin, partly caused by construction of the Port Tunnel, meant the East-Link toll bridge performed less well. Traffic on it fell by 5.6 per cent, while toll income was down by a similar amount to €3.4 million.

The company, which has changed its name from National Toll Roads to reflect its increasingly diversified business, also reported a good result from its waste management business.

Its 88 per cent stake in Celtic Waste generated profits of €6.4 million. Since the end of June, Celtic has acquired Sita Recycling, a firm that segregates, recycles and recovers waste for leading businesses, and National Waste, which provides it with a platform in the Dublin area.

NTR logged a loss of €1.8 million from its 51 per cent interest in Airtricity, the wind power firm that plans to build a windfarm on the sandbank off Arklow.

NTR's chief executive, Mr Jim Barry, said the company was very close to doing a deal on building the windfarm with GE Wind but it was "55-45" whether construction would start, as originally planned, in May next year.

The slowdown in the National Development Plan has affected progress on a number of road projects for which NTR is shortlisted, including the motorway between Kilcock and Kinnegad, the Waterford by-pass and the Dundalk by-pass. General overheads, including interest costs and development expenditure, amounted to €5.6 million in the period.

The company increased its interim dividend by 10 per cent to 9.02 cents and paid over €10.5 million to the Exchequer in licence fees, taxes and rates.

Mr Barry repeated that the company would consider a public listing but had not ruled out other methods of developing the company in the future. But such moves will be some way down the line.

"Over the next 18 months to two years, the focus will be on business development. That's where management attention has to be and a listing would be distracting in that context," he said.

NTR also said its chairman of eight years, Mr Richard Hooper, was retiring, having recently been appointed chairman of Jurys Doyle Hotel Group. He will be replaced by non-executive director Mr Tom Roche. He represents the Roche family, which owns 30 per cent of NTR, on NTR's board.

The company is also losing its finance director, Mr Joe Kearns, who is resigning at the end of September to pursue other projects.