Profits at National Toll Roads will fall again this year. Chief executive Mr Jim Barry said yesterday this was due to increases in operating costs and capital investments, which also cut into profits last year.

While the bridge, waste and electricity group reported a 68 per cent rise in revenues to #42.7 million (£35.6 million) last year from #25.4 million in 1999, post-tax profits fell to #14.5 million from #14.8 million.

The privately owned group, of which Mr Richard Hooper is chairman, said earnings per share were 64.4 cents last year, down from 65.8 cents.

Its board recommended a final dividend of 35.6 cents, which leaves its total dividend unchanged at 52 cents.

"We expect pre-tax profit to fall back a bit in 2001," Mr Barry said. "Our level of operating costs and capital investments will increase in 2001 and, in the short term, that will impose constraints on profits. But it will coincide with a very tangible appreciation in the asset class of the business."

In addition to the East Link and West Link bridges operated by the group, it has controlling interests in Eirtricity, a wind energy firm, and Celtic Waste, a waste disposal firm.

In a joint venture with Spanish group Dragados, the firm is competing for public-private partnership contracts to construct the Dublin-Waterford motorway and the Kilkock-Kinnegad road link.

Mr Barry said rising traffic congestion on the M50 motorway around Dublin and in the port area was constraining the growth potential of its bridges. Construction of a new bridge parallel to the West Link would begin this summer. He claimed the introduction of the Dublin Port Tunnel and development of the area by the Dublin Docklands Development Agency meant three extra bridges would be needed in the long term.

Traffic on the West Link rose 5.4 per cent to 24.6 million vehicles, generating revenues of #31.5 million in 2000, 6.3 per cent more than a year earlier. East Link bridge traffic rose 1.9 per cent to 7.6 million while revenues rose 9.5 per cent to #7 million. National Toll Roads paid a licence fee of #8.1 million to the Government for the West Link concession and #1.8 million for the East Link concession.

The company is thought likely to increase its toll charges by about 20 per cent in September following a European Court of Justice ruling last year which said toll roads and bridges should be regarded as services for taxation purposes.

Mr Barry said National Toll Roads would invest further in Eirtricity and Celtic Waste this year. The group owns 51 per cent of Eirtricity, a wind energy firm managed by a former chief executive at Bord na Mona, Dr Eddie O'Connor. Eirtricity reported a loss of #2.6 million in 2000. National Toll Roads invested #7.6 million in Eirtricity in the form of a loan and #400,000 equity last year.

Eirtricity claims more than 6,000 small commercial customers. National Toll Roads said the annual value of its electricity bills was about #25 million. Revenues last year were #5.7 million.

Celtic Waste reported a profit of #879,000 on revenues of #11 million. National Toll Roads invested #8.7 million in the company last year. The company was seeking acquisitions - "at the right price" - in the sector.