Transurban toll revenue soars on acquisitions and more traffic

ACQUISITIONS in Queensland and NSW have significantly boosted toll road operator Transurban’s traffic numbers and revenue.

Transurban’s toll revenue for the June quarter lifted by 70.8 per cent to $400 million compared to the prior corresponding period.

Transurban Queensland, formerly known as Queens- land Motorways before Transurban acquired it in July 2014, and the Cross City Tunnel in Sydney, which Transurban acquired in late June 2014, helped lift revenue for the three-month period.

Excluding the acquisitions, toll revenue for the quarter increased by 22.4 per cent to $286 million.

Transurban Queensland in- cludes the Clem Jones Tunnel, Go Between Bridge, Gateway Motorway, Logan Motorway and Legacy Way in southeast Queensland.

Of the Queensland assets, average daily traffic increased by 4.9 per cent to 308,000 trips in the June quarter.

Legacy Way only opened to traffic on June 25, 2015 so its traffic and revenue had no ma- terial effect on Transurban’s overall figures.

In Sydney, average daily traffic rose by 8.7 per cent to 593,000 trips, helped by the absence of construction works.

Transurban’s Sydney assets include the Hills M2, Lane Cove Tunnel, Cross City Tunnel, M1 Eastern Distributor, Westlink M7 and M5 South West Motorway.

Average daily traffic lifted by 13.2 per cent on the M5 and by 10.4 per cent on the Hills M2 after widening and ramp projects boosted the roads’ capacity.

In Melbourne, Transurban’s CityLink toll road average daily traffic increased by 3.1 per cent to 815,000.

In the US, in Northern Virginia, average daily trips on the 495 Express Lanes rose 19.1 per cent to 42,000.

Average daily trips on the 95 Express Lanes, also in Northern Virginia, totalled 45,000, after being in operation for six months. Transurban said that traffic continued to perform well against expectations.

Transurban shares shed 2¢ to close at $9.65.