Rebound raises BECL’s profit
- Thursday, November 19, 2009, 14:06
- Business
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Rebound raises BECL’s profit
The SET-listed expressway operator Bangkok Expressway Plc (BECL) expects its financial results to improve further in the final quarter after recording better-than-expected toll traffic and revenue last month.
Toll traffic volume rose by 5.84% year-on-year in October to 970,000 cars per day, compared with 954,000 in the third quarter. Toll revenue increased by almost 10% over the same period in 2008 to 21.39 million baht daily, and from an average of 20.9 million per month in the previous quarter.
The third quarter is traditionally the peak traffic season as there are fewer holidays than at other times of the year, said Suttida Sukhanindr, senior investor relations manager at BECL
“The October figures are quite positive for what is normally a low-traffic month when schools are closed for the vacation,” she said.
Traffic in the first 10 months was 2.2% higher than a year earlier with average daily toll revenue rising 9.75%.
“We expect annualised traffic growth to stay at almost 6% for the whole fourth quarter as people normally travel to shop for the New Year celebrations in November and celebrate the season in December,” Ms Suttida said.
The year-to-date figures have restored BECL’s confidence that it will reach its 2009 traffic target of 1% growth and see toll revenue increase by 5% to 6% over last year, she said.
Analysts are also upbeat about BECL’s third-quarter results and maintain a positive outlook for the company’s performance in the fourth quarter.
In the third quarter, BECL’s net profit rose by 53% year-on-year to 482 million baht on revenue of 1.98 billion, up 14.4%, of which 1.92 billion was toll revenue.
The increase was attributed to the 12.25% rise in toll revenue from the same period last year, due to the opening of new roads, which increased vehicles using the system, and from raising tolls at the beginning of September.
Nine-month earnings rose by 43.5% to 1.36 billion baht as revenue increased by 11.2% to 5.76 billion, including 5.6 billion in toll revenue.
United Securities said October marked the fifth consecutive month of traffic growth, indicating a recovery in the expressway business that would benefit BECL’s results in the fourth quarter.
An expected rebound in the economy and opening of the new government complex in Chaeng Watthana would help lift tollway traffic and BECL’s performance in 2010, it added.
Asia Plus Securities has raised BECL’s net profit estimate by 2% this year to 1.62 billion baht, up 12% from 2008. However, it said the planned April opening of the Airport Link rail system connecting downtown Bangkok with Suvarnabhumi Airport could slow BECL’s growth from next year onward.
Shares of BECL closed yesterday on the SET at 18.60 baht, down 10 satang, in trade worth 7.17 million baht.
Published: 19/11/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Business
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/27691/rebound-raises-becl-profit
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