Stalexport Autostrady Capital Group’s summary of H1 2022

In H1 2022, the Stalexport Autostrady Capital Group increased its revenue, whereas its net profit remained at the level similar to that recorded in the previous year.

In H1 2022, the Stalexport Autostrady Capital Group recorded revenue amounting to PLN 187.7 million, which represents an 18 percent increase compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. Similarly as in 2021, net profit amounted to nearly PLN 49 million. EBITDA totalled PLN 112.6 million.

The financial results of the Stalexport Autostrady Capital Group are determined by its motorway activities consisting in the management and operation of the toll section of the A4 Katowice-Kraków motorway, carried out by one of its subsidiaries, i.e. Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A. (SAM).

In H1 2022, the Group recorded an increase in traffic at the beginning of the armed conflict in Ukraine, caused by the wave of migration and aid for Ukrainian nationals. Starting from 1 March 2022, after obtaining prior approval from the Ministry of Infrastructure, vehicles with Ukrainian licence plates as well as vehicles and groups of vehicles reported by non-governmental organizations, foreign organizations and individuals as providing aid to Ukrainian nationals are exempt from tolls. The exemption from tolls for vehicles with Ukrainian licence plates was in effect until 31 May 2022, however vehicles reported as providing humanitarian aid are still subject to the exemption.

In H1 2022, average daily traffic (ADT)on the concession section of the A4 Katowice-Kraków motorway was 45.3 thousand vehicles, nearly 21% higher than traffic recorded in the corresponding period of 2021. In the case of passenger cars, ADT increased by 23.9 percent, whereas in the case of heavy goods vehicles - it increased by 8.8 percent.

Toll revenue in H1 2022 amounted to approx. PLN 185.5 million, which represents an 18.3 percent increase compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

The amount of toll revenue was affected primarily by:

• change of preferential rate for passenger vehicles using automatic payment methods, starting from 1 October 2021 (from PLN 8 to PLN 9),
• change of toll rate for category 2 and 3 vehicles (from PLN 20 to PLN 22) and elimination of preferential rates for heavy goods vehicles using automatic payment methods, introduced on 1 October 2021,
• the absence of any major restrictions on social and economic activities in connection with the spread of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the number of COVID-19 cases, which occurred in H1 2021,
• steadily increasing share of automatic payments in the structure of traffic as well as increased - partially exempted from tolls - traffic in connection with the armed conflict in Ukraine.

Despite a significant increase in the Group’s revenue compared to the previous year, the amount of its net profit remained very close to the amount earned in the previous year. The reason for this state of affairs is a significant increase in operating expenses of the Stalexport Autostrady Group, which in H1 2022 amounted to PLN 121.7 million and were 25.5 percent higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year, primarily due to higher costs of establishing provisions for resurfacing (approx. PLN 36.8 million in the current period compared to approx. PLN 1.1 million in the previous year). The higher costs of establishing the aforementioned provisions are a consequence of rising prices on the construction market. The Company updated the costs of work related to resurfacing which the Company is obligated to complete by the end of the concession period. The result of these activities was not only an increase in the costs of establishing provisions, but also an increase in funds available on the provision account established for resurfacing work.

The concessionaire continued activities intended to reduce transaction time and improve the capacity of toll plazas on the A4 Katowice-Kraków motorway. The videotolling service was made available to mPay app users. Additional toll gates intended exclusively for automatic payments have been opened on both toll plazas, in Mysłowice and Balice. Currently, there are already three automatic lanes that support videotolling applications as well as A4Go and Telepass electronic toll collection, in each direction, including a separate lane for heavy goods vehicles.

The value of investment expenditures incurred by the Stalexport Autostrady Group in H1 2022 amounted to PLN 30.8 million and included mainly construction work carried out on the managed section of the A4 Katowice-Kraków motorway. These expenditures were predominantly related to the drainage system of the Silesian section of the motorway. The Group’s other investment expenditures include the purchase of equipment necessary for the on-going maintenance of the motorway as well as the replacement of office equipment and means of transport.

The financing of investment tasks under the Concession Agreement concluded by SAM is secured with own funds originating from the operation of the A4 motorway (tolls).

Emil Wąsacz, CEO of the Management Board of Stalexport Autostrady S.A. and Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A.:

For the near future, we plan to continue undertaking activities intended to raise the quality of customer service provided to users of the motorway under our management, including by improving the toll collection system. By focusing on the development of automatic payments, we intend to increase the capacity of toll plazas by significantly reducing transaction time compared to traditional payment methods using cash and bank cards.

We are also engaging in discussions with additional partners to further expand access to videotolling. We wish that in the future it will be possible to launch an interoperable solution with the e-TOLL system implemented by the Public Partner on the Katowice-Kraków section of the motorway. We are aware how important the ability to use only one electronic payment method is for the convenience of all motorway users in Poland and we have been raising this topic in conversations with the Public Partner for many years.