Transurban toll revenue soars

Transurban has reinforced its status as a favoured stock, reporting a double-digit lift in toll revenue.

Transurban revenue

Transurban has reinforced its status as one of the most favoured stocks on the ASX by reporting a double-digit lift in toll revenue in the June quarter, aided by an early Easter holiday period.

The company said yesterday that proportional toll revenue was up 17.5 per cent year on year to $513 million for the quarter, with the bulk of the revenue increase coming from its network of toll roads in Sydney and Melbourne.

Sydney’s proportional toll revenue rose 13.4 per cent to $204m, while Melbourne’s lifted 7.7 per cent to $166m.

In Sydney, average daily traffic rose 6.5 per cent to 632,000 trips over the three-month ­period.

Last year’s June quarter result was impacted by the Easter holidays, which this year fell in the March quarter.

Transurban owns or part-owns Sydney’s Eastern Distributor, Cross City Tunnel, M2, M5 and M7 and Lane Cove Tunnel roads and Melbourne’s CityLink, along with two roads in the US. The Melbourne-based company also owns and operates six assets in Queensland, including three adjacent to the AirportlinkM7.

Chief executive Scott Charlton said Transurban was spending billions of ­dollars on road projects proposed or under construction, including the F3 to M2 in Sydney and the Western Distributor in Melbourne.

Mr Charlton has previously called on the federal and state governments to take a co-­ordinated approach to the rollout of new infrastructure projects across the nation to avoid a blowout in costs.

The company has been highly sought-after by investors for its stable and strong distribution payments.