KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 27): Lingkaran Trans Kota Holdings Bhd (LITRAK) saw its net profit for the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2015 (2QFY16) rise 14.3% to RM38.88 million or 7.47 sen a share from RM34.02 million or 6.6 sen a share in previous year, on higher revenue, interest income, and other income.

Revenue came in at RM95.53 million, up 0.7% from RM94.89 million, its filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday showed.

Its share of profit in SPRINT Group, the operator of the Western Kuala Lumpur Traffic Dispersal Scheme (SPRINT) Expressway, also improved earnings, it said. 

No dividend was declared for the current quarter under review. 

As for the first half of FY16 (1HFY16), the operator of Damansara Puchong Highway (LDP) posted a 19.1% rise in net profit to RM82.36 million or 15.89 sen a share from RM69.14 million or 13.42 sen a share in 1HFY15, largely due to the same reason that spurred its latest quarterly earnings’ improvement. 

Revenue for the period inched up 0.5% to RM191.7 million from RM190.69 million in 1HFY15, thanks to the higher traffic recorded during the period. 

Going forward, LITRAK, which is Gamuda's 44.6%-owned associate, said as a result of the recent increase in toll rates, the initial reduction in average weekly tollable traffic was 6.8%.

"Basing on past experience, the board of directors expects the traffic volume to gradually rebound," it said. 

It added that the new toll fare for Class 5 vehicle of RM1.60, is still below the concession agreement’s rate of RM2.10. 

Shares in LITRAK was unchanged at RM5.13, giving it a market capitalisation RM2.68 billion.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)