The company reported a $123 million loss, and wrote down the value of the Dulles Greenway, a 22-kilometre motorway near Washington DC, by a further $152 million, citing a decline in traffic and uncertainty over how the US economy will recover.
In France, Atlas Arteria is investing in government-backed schemes to cut carbon emissions, such as opening new tolled lanes for electric vehicles and cars that carry more than two people. The company is optimistic about the traffic outlook in Europe after virus restrictions eased and more people go on driving holidays; it is also putting more electric vehicle-charging stations on its biggest and most profitable tollroad asset, the Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhone (which currently contributes almost 90 per cent of the company’s earnings).
Traffic on the 2318-kilometre APRR fell by almost one-third in the first half, compared with a year earlier. But it rebounded strongly after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in May and returned to its 2019 levels by August. The toll fares generated an income of €682.9 million ($1.14 billion).
The cash from APRR should allow Atlas Arteria to pay a first-half dividend of 11¢ a share in late September or early October but the company said the payment would depend on its continuing performance.
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