KUALA LUMPUR (May 24): Prolintas Infra Business Trust (KL:PLINTAS), which was just listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia on March 25, returned to the black in the first quarter of 2024, thanks to the absence of a one-off deferred tax reversal.

The one-off deferred tax reversal in the same quarter last year was due to insufficient future taxable profits to utilise the unutilised business losses before expiry following the new supplemental concession agreement, the Klang Valley’s highway operator said in a filing on Friday.

Net profit for the three months ended March 31, 2024 (1QFY2024) totalled RM2.09 million compared to a net loss of RM81.78 million over the same period a year earlier, said Prolintas.

Revenue for the quarter more than doubled to RM76.53 million versus RM32.64 million a year ago, supported by higher toll collection amounting to RM75.4 million.

The trust did not declare any dividend for the quarter.

Commenting on its outlook, its trustee-manager Prolintas Managers Sdn Bhd has maintained an optimistic outlook regarding the future performance of the highways.

Moving forward, Prolintas will focus on complementing the organic growth of its highways with additional services such as petrol stations, convenience stores and electric vehicle charging stations along its highways.

“[This is] to maximise the revenue-generating potential and to establish the highways as preferred routes for travel. The trustee-manager will also focus on achieving cost efficiencies through operational excellence,” it said.

Prolintas operates four matured highways, namely Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (AKLEH), Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE), Lebuhraya Kemuning-Shah Alam (LKSA) and Sistem Lingkaran Lebuhraya Kajang (SILK), with an average remaining concession period of approximately 32 years.

In a statement on Friday, Prolintas said it recorded a total toll collection of RM75.4 million for 1QFY2024, of which SILK highway is the biggest contributor, collecting RM33.8 million or 45% of the total.

SILK is followed by GCE’s RM21.9 million or 29% or the total, while LKSA collected RM10.8 million or 14%, and the remaining 12% or RM8.8 million was collected at AKLEH highway.

Prolintas said in the statement that it registered a profit from operations of RM41.5 million in 1QFY2024, after accounting for all operating expenses.

“The revenue performance indicates the trust is on track with its distribution policy, achieving a distributable amount of RM16.7 million as of 1QFY2024. We aim to pay out at least 90% of the distributable amount to unitholders annually,” said its chief executive officer Malik Parvez Ahmad Nazir Ahmad.

Prolintas units closed half a sen or 0.52% higher at 97 sen on Friday, giving the trust a market capitalisation of RM1.07 billion.