SMC SLEX Inc., the tollway unit of San Miguel Corp. (SMC), saw its net income rise by 21 percent in the first nine months of the year on the back of higher revenue from toll operations despite lower vehicle traffic.

The operator of South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) posted a net income of P3.01 billion, up from P2.49 billion in the same period last year.

It said revenue from toll operations grew by 9 percent to P5.15 billion from P4.73 billion last year.

SMC SLEX posted average daily traffic (ADT) of 351,274 vehicles, down 6 percent from 372,471 ADT last year, reflecting the impact of the Seamless Project, which removed the TR3 toll plaza that had an open system with a separate traffic count.

Vehicles are now counted at their respective exits at the toll plazas in Calamba and Batangas, reducing the total ADT count.

“The reduction in traffic count under the Seamless Project has no impact on the toll revenue,” SMC SLEX said.

The average transaction mix for the period was 78 percent for RFID and 22 percent for cash.

The cost of services increased by 2 percent to P5.15 billion mainly due to higher operations and maintenance costs, higher amortization of service concession rights, higher share of the Philippine National Construction Corp. due to the increased toll revenue, and higher concession insurance premiums, offset by lower provision for resurfacing and maintenance obligations.

Operating expenses, meanwhile, went down by 14 percent to P276.9 million from P322.8 million, mainly due to lower depreciation and amortization expenses.

SMC SLEX has allocated P7.4 billion for capital expenditures (capex) this year to partially finance the construction of an expressway from Batangas to Lucena and for the repair and maintenance of SLEX. Of that amount, P6.77 billion will be used to finance the TR4 Project and SLEx widening project.

In March 2019, the firm started construction of the 66.74-kilometer SLEx Toll Road 4 that would connect Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Lucena City, Quezon.

The toll road will shorten the travel time from Sto. Tomas to Barangay Mayao in Lucena City from the usual three hours to just 45 minutes.

The P26.1-billion project is expected to be completed by 2026. TR4 is a part of the company’s 30-year concession, which will last until 2036.

SMC SLEX also allocated P102.4 million for road and facilities repair and P582 million for equipment acquisition for the toll collection system. In its firsthalf report, the company said a total of P1.26 billion had been spent to date on periodic repair and restoration activities.