macquarie

Macquarie Atlas (MQA) reporting 2010 results to the Australian stock exchange show traffic up strongly in France especially truck traffic, slightly up in the UK but flat or down a bit in the US. Chicago Skyway traffic is down 4.9% to an average daily 44,987 from 47,296 in 2009. Dulles Greenway traffic is down in 2010 to 47,663 v 49,412 in 2009, a decline of 3.5%.

Despite awful results from their American tollroad investments, Macquarie reports a reasonable worldwide result for the first quarter of 2010. Their tollroad concessions are now divided into Macquarie Atlas Roads (MAR) and Intoll, separate listings on the Sydney stock exchange.

South Bay Expressway (SBE) company filed for a reorganization in Chapter 11 US bankruptcy this week, writing off around $200m in shareholder equity. The equity held by Macquarie Atlas Roads in Australia and previously Macquarie Infrastructure Group had been heavily written down since the pike opened in November 2007 and was valued at zero ($0.00) in the financial reports from June 2009 onward.

The South Bay Expressway (SBX), Macquarie's first foray into the US toll business continues to be a bear for the group. Data released to the Sydney Stock Exchange show traffic in the latest quarter (2009Q3) down 13.6% on the prior corresponding period of 2008 for average daily transactions of 22.5k, v 26.1k in the tollroad's first year.

Macquarie are proposing to split their portfolio of pikes into the gems (called Mature MIG) and the duds called (called Active MIG). For the MMIG gems investors will pay a premium but will see the returns roll in steadily.

Leading concessionaire Macquarie report that their weighted average of traffic worldwide was up 1.6% in the last quarter, July-September, an improvement on the low point early this year. Greatest traffic strength was on the APRR motorway network in central France, up 3.4% over last year, and Westlink Sydney up 5.7%. The American pikes were the poor performers in traffic with the exception of Chicago Skyway.

Puerto Rico's Public Private Partnerships Authority has hired Macquarie Capital to assist them developing a P3 program. Carlos M Garcia, chairman of the authority is quoted in the announcement as saying that private investment is needed to improve the island territory's infrastructure in high priority areas.

A much anticipated Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG) report shows the big private toll road concessionaire with rather stable traffic, revenue and profits, but as anticipated big writedowns in the valuation of their toll properties. Nine toll property shares are downvalued in total by 28% in the first six months of this year (31 Dec to 30 Jun) and by 40% since 30 Jun last year.

Several readers have forwarded us a Bloomberg News report with the all-capitalized headline "Illinois, Indiana Toll Roads May Join Macquarie Sales" suggesting we should follow up on this. Trouble is there's nothing there, no news, nothing new.

Macquarie Infrastructure Group, a major international tollroad operator says in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange that a preliminary calculation of its portfolio value at June 30 is $4.1b (A$5.1b.) This is 28.2% below the valuation for the same tollroad assets at the end of 2008 which was $5.7b (A$7.1b.) That in turn was a downvaluation on earlier numbers. (A$1.00 = US80c)