The operator of the tolled €295 million Rathcormac-Fermoy bypass in Co Cork last year marginally increased its pretax profits in spite of a drop in the cost of using the road.
Accounts just filed by Directroute (Fermoy) Ltd to the Companies Office show the firm increased its pretax profits from €961,228 to €964,909 in the 12 months to the end of December. Revenues fell by 4.7 per cent from €16.59 million to €15.8 million.
According to the directors’ report, “traffic levels continued to increase in 2011 as motorists appreciate the benefits of a continuous motorway from Cork to Dublin”.
The company has bank loans totalling €88.3 million and the figures show that net interest charges of €6.2 million reduced the toll operator’s profits to €964,909.
Directroute is to operate the Rathcormac-Fermoy bypass for 30 years to 2034 before it is handed back to the National Roads Authority. It is owned by Irish construction companies Lagan, Roadbridge and Sisk and international companies Kellogg Root and Browne, the Bank of Scotland and First Irish Infrastructure Fund.
