KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 24): West Coast Expressway concessionaire WCE Holdings Bhd (KL:WCEHB) expects to break even in profitability during the financial year ending March 31, 2032 (FY2032), said chief executive officer Lyndon Alfred Felix.
According to Lyndon’s estimation, WCE Holdings could also achieve cash-flow break-even in FY2030, which means its toll revenue is expected to be sufficient to cover operating and financing costs.
“Based on current projections, the profitability break-even is indicated around FY2032 and our cash-flow break-even is indicated around FY2030,” Lyndon told reporters after the group's annual general meeting on Monday.
“However, these remain indicative and will ultimately depend on actual average daily traffic and traffic,” he added.
The concessionaire posted a net loss of RM24.5 million for the first quarter ended June 30, 2026 (1QFY2027), compared with RM25.33 million a year earlier. Profitability was weighed down by finance costs of RM59.34 million, which exceeded total toll revenue by RM12.60 million, as borrowing costs for completed highway stretches are now charged directly to the profit or loss statement under accounting rules.
However, the group's core toll collection revenue rose 11.2% to RM46.74 million from RM42.02 million, though total revenue for the quarter saw a sharp 64.2% drop to RM140.8 million from RM393.85 million due to lower construction activities, as six out of 10 rest and service areas along the West Coast Expressway have been completed.
Asked about the growth trajectory of toll collections for the next three years, Lyndon told The Edge on Monday that the group expects to maintain double-digit growth.
He said that once the expressway is fully completed in early 2027, the group’s next step will be to monitor the traffic flow and assess the toll revenue performance, as he expects traffic volumes to nearly double during festive periods and long holidays.
To date, eight of the 11 sections spanning 180km of the 233km build-operate-transfer highway across Selangor and Perak are operational. The entire Perak alignment of 120km has been completed.
Construction is ongoing for Section 3 (Kesas-Federal Highway Route 2) and Section 7 (Assam Jawa-Tanjong Karang), while the completed Section 4 will open concurrently with Section 3.
WCE Holdings shares closed two sen or 2.78% lower at 70 sen on Monday, valuing the group at RM2.31 billion.