KUALA LUMPUR: WCE Holdings Bhd's net loss for the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2024 (2Q25) narrowed to RM10.58 million from RM24.17 million a year ago, mainly attributed to interest costs charged after section completions.
Its quarterly revenue, however, fell 34.4 per cent to RM151.16 million from RM230.51 million previously, the company's filing to Bursa Malaysia showed.
As a result, WCE reported a loss per share of 0.35 sen from 0.81 sen in 2Q24.
For the cumulative six months, WCE's net loss improved to RM36.44 million from RM50.58 million a year ago, while revenue declined to RM226.73 million from RM346.55 million.
WCE said its toll division continued its steady growth, reporting a 128 per cent increase in toll collection revenue for 2Q25 compared to the preceding year quarter.
This was driven by higher traffic volumes following the opening of additional sections which are Section 1, Section 6 and Section 11.
"West Coast Expressway Sdn Bhd, an 80 per cent-owned subsidiary of WCE, continues to make significant progress in 2Q25 with the opening of Section 1 (Banting-South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE)) on Aug 31, 2024 and toll commencement on Sept 30, 2024.
"This section provides direct access to SKVE, further enhancing the road infrastructure in the vicinity as well as the connectivity of the West Coast Expressway.
"The recent openings of Section 1, Section 6 (Bandar Bukit Raja Utara-Assam Jawa) and Section 11 (Beruas-Taiping Selatan) have significantly amplified WCE's daily traffic volume, whereby the sectional average daily traffic for the current financial period increased by a significant 83 per cent compared to FY24.
"The opening of new sections has contributed to a substantial rise in toll collection revenue, growing 128 per cent from RM13 million in 2Q24 to RM29.8 million in 2Q25," the company said in a separate statement.
WCE expects initial losses in the early years of toll operations due to the cessation of interest expenses capitalised for completed sections.
The company said staggered opening of the remaining sections is expected to boost sectional toll revenue and is poised to improve its future financial performance positively in terms of cash flows and operating results.
"Once the toll operations are fully operational with increased and stabilized traffic volume, the group expects a shift toward profitability as revenue growth outpaces interest costs," it added.