Jasa Marga expects fourth quarter earnings rebound

JAKARTA. State-run toll operator Jasa Marga expects its overall performance to rebound in the fourth quarter, driven by the operation of new toll road sections, after lackluster performance in the first three months of the year.

Jasa Marga finance director Reynaldi Hermansjah said on Tuesday that his firm aimed to see positive growth in both its total revenues and net profit in the last quarter of this year.

“We expect to record positive growth after our new toll sections start operating around August or September,” he told The Jakarta Post.

He said, however, that the significant revenue growth from the operation of the new toll sections would be seen a quarter later, hinting that it would happen around the fourth quarter.

The new toll sections will be Gempol-Pandaan, Gempol-Pasuruan and Surabaya-Mojokerto, with combined length of 63.78 kilometers, bringing a total of 639.63-km worth of toll roads operated by the firm in 2015.

The firm, which is listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) under the code JSMR, saw its total revenues drop 5.3 percent to Rp 1.97 trillion (US$152.09 million) in the January-March period from Rp 2.08 trillion in the same period last year.

The company attributed the slump to declining construction revenues during the first quarter, as most new toll road section construction was carried out last year, Reynaldi said.

Jasa Marga’s revenues from construction projects plunged 57.8 percent to Rp 195.08 billion in the first quarter.

The firm’s revenues from toll operations hit Rp 1.66 trillion in the first three-month period, a 9.2 percent increase from Rp 1.52 trillion in the same period last year.

As many as 324.26 million vehicles passed Jasa Marga-operated toll roads as of the first quarter, an increase from 309.97 million vehicles during the same period last year.

Its revenues from other business lines shot up 27.5 percent year-on-year (yoy) to Rp 119.31 billion in the January-March period.

The firm’s declining revenues was also squeezed by its ballooning financial costs, depreciation and amortization.

The company’s cost of funds surged 25 percent yoy to Rp 330.13 billion from Rp 263.5 billion due to increasing interest rates from bonds and bank loans. Jasa Marga’s total bonds increased to Rp 160.93 billion in the January-March period from Rp 152.48 billion in the same period last year.

The firm’s bank loans stood at Rp 169.2 billion, an increase from Rp 111.02 billion.

“The significant increase in both expenses represents the huge value of the company’s expansion for its long-term growth […],” Reynaldi said.

Even though his firm’s total revenues in the first quarter declined, he was upbeat that Jasa Marga would still meet its annual growth target of 14 percent to Rp 8 trillion by end of this year, he went on.

He emphasized that Jasa Marga’s EBITDA rose 4.03 percent to Rp 997.61 billion during the first quarter of this year compared to Rp 958.93 billion in the same period last year.

Jasa Marga’s shares (JSMR) slumped 2.2 percent to Rp 6,675 at Tuesday’s close, from Rp 6,825 the previous day. (Khoirul Amin)