KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 22): WCE Holdings Bhd (KL:WCEHB), the operator of the West Coast Expressway (WCE) project, has logged its fifth consecutive quarterly net loss, primarily due to interest expense incurred in relation to project financing for completed sections of the highway.
However, the group's net loss for its first financial quarter ended June 30, 2024 (1QFY2025) narrowed to RM25.86 million from RM26.41 million in 1QFY2024, WCE Holdings' bourse filing on Thursday showed.
Quarterly revenue fell 34.9% to RM75.57 million from RM116.04 million.
Despite the net loss, the group recorded an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of RM18.1 million for 1QFY2025, an increase of 147% compared with RM7.3 million in 1QFY2024, indicating that the group is profitable at the operating level.
The group's toll collection revenue during the quarter surged 93% year-on-year to RM26.1 million mainly due to higher traffic volume after the opening of the additional sections, namely Section 6 (Bandar Bukit Raja Utara–Assam Jawa) and Section 11 (Beruas–Taiping Selatan).
No dividend was declared for the quarter.
The WCE project involves the development of a 233km tolled highway from Banting, Selangor to Taiping, Perak. Six out of the highway's 11 sections have been opened for traffic.
The construction of Section 1 (Banting–South Klang Valley Expressway [SKVE]) and Section 2 (SKVE–Shah Alam Expressway or Kesas) has been completed and is currently at the inspection stage.
Meanwhile, the construction for the final three sections namely, Section 3 (Kesas–Federal Highway Route 2), Section 4 (Federal Highway Route 2–New North South Klang Straits Bypass) and Section 7 (Assam Jawa–Tanjung Karang) is currently ongoing.
Going forward, WCE Holding said the additional sectional toll revenue is expected to further improve the future financial performance of the group in terms of cash flows and operating results.
"In the long run, once the entire alignment of WCE is fully operational, the group expects a shift towards profitability as revenue growth outpaces interest cost," the group said.
Shares in WCE Holdings settled 3.5 sen lower at 70 sen on Thursday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM2.08 billion.