Electronic toll provider Kapsch TrafficCom says its e-tolling project in SA led to disappointing revenue in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012/13.
The Austria-based company saw revenue drop 21.1% year-on-year to EUR106.4 million for the quarter to June. The group reported an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss of EUR5.6 million, down from EUR22.2 million in the first quarter of 2011/12.
Kapsch also made a net loss of EUR4.4 million, while it earned EUR13.9 million in the same period last year.
“The decline of the segment EBIT, from EUR18.5 million in the previous year to EUR1.6 million, can be attributed largely to the reduced sale of on-board units, the lost revenue from the South African project and the performance-related higher operation costs in Poland,” says the company.
The Gauteng e-toll project was suspended indefinitely through an interdict, shortly before its planned commissioning at the end of April, after a lawsuit brought against the controversial system by the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance. Government has appealed this decision, and the first hearings were held on 15 August.
The company also set up a nationwide electronic toll collection system in Poland, which went into operation in July 2011.
“While the developments in the two ongoing projects in Poland and SA led to disappointing revenue and results during the reporting period, the significant improvement in the key balance sheet figures reconfirmed the financial strength of the Kapsch TrafficCom Group,” says the company.
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It adds that the developments of both of these major projects had a pronounced effect on the first quarter of 2012/13.
“At the same time, the changes to the key figures reflect the project-related volatility in the balance sheet and results. Comparisons between individual quarters are, therefore, of only limited value, and the company itself evaluates its success based on the year-end result.”
In the segment Road Solution Projects (RSP), the two implementation projects in Poland and SA were associated with high revenue in the first quarter of the previous year, says Kapsch.
“The newly begun projects were unable to compensate for this during the reporting period, and revenue declined as a result by 36.3%, from EUR54.8 million to EUR34.9 million. In consequence, the company was not able to fully cover its costs, and the EBIT in the segment RSP was, therefore, negative, at EUR7.2 million.”
The company saw an almost 11-month low on Friday, on the Vienna Stock Exchange, as its stock fell about 7%, to EUR48.90 per share. This was the lowest since November last year.
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