Transurban climbs back to profit, affirms better dividend this year
Tollroad operator Transurban Group (ASX: TLC) announced on Thursday its return to profit for the full year 2009/10 as it reported that the company's net profit as of June 30 reached $59 .605 million.
The result was an improvement from the prior year's loss of $16.134 million, prompting the company to announce that shareholders could anticipate increases in dividend distribution for the current year.
Transurban said that revenues culled from ordinary activities retreated by two percent to $817.2 million in the same year though the company's toll revenue on an underlying basis spiked up by 6.8 percent en route to $773.864 million.
The toll operator said that its proportional earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) soared by 13.1 percent to $629.9 million, which the company attributed to "growth in underlying proportional revenue to $842.4 million and the continued emphasis on cost control."
Transurban said that shareholders could expect final distribution of 12 cents per share, unfranked, with total distribution of 24 cents, unfranked, for 2009/10 as the company projected that final distributions would reach at least 26 cents, citing the positive outlook that company is enjoying.
The company said that it has achieved saving totalling to $45.3 million that dates back to June 2008, which is the direct result of cost reduction program implemented by Transurban.
Transurban chief executive Chris Lynch said that the glowing results and EBITDA growths were brought about by the concerted efforts of company employees as they strive to gain value for the company's security holders.
Mr Lynch expressed confidence that Transurban's growth projects would further enhance its performance as he noted that the company's underlying EBITDA surged by 13.0 percent to $606.9 million while its underlying free cash from operations piled up by 31.8 percent to 347.5 million.
As of 1310 AEST on Thursday, Transurban shares were trading at $4.49, picking up by six cents or 1.35 percent from previous trading day.