NTR has reported a 19.6% increase in pre-tax profits, for the six months to the end of June 2002, to €9.14 million from €7.65 million from the same time last year.
NTR, which operates Dublin's East and West Link toll bridges, said the results reflected a return on the significant investment NTR has been making in its various businesses over the past three years.
The company said its after-tax profits rose to €7.44 million from €4.61 million in 2001. Group revenue increased 58% from €38.25 million to €60.47 million.
NTR said that traffic at its West-Link toll bridge increased by 6.5% to over 13 million vehicles with income increasing by 13.2% to €18 million. The corresponding East-Link figure showed a decrease of 5.6% to €3.4 million. Traffic through the East-Link also fell by 5.6% due to the Dublin Port Tunnel construction project and the increased congestion along the city's eastern corridor.
Celtic Waste, in which NTR has an 88% shareholding, continued to make what the company called significant progress during the six month period. Ahern Waste of Cork was bought in March and a number of other acquisitions, including Sita Recycling and National Waste, have been completed.
NTR also has a 51% interest in airtricity, which had more than 16,000 customers by the end of the June. The company now has 285MW of fully consented wind farms onshore in Ireland and received permission to construct and operate the biggest off-shore wind park off the Co Wicklow coast in January.
'These results have begun to reflect a return on the significant investment NTR has been making in all its businesses over the past three years,' Jim Barry, NTR's Chief Executive said. 'That investment will continue in the near term, in order to consolidate NTR's leading positions in each of the areas in which it operates,' he added.
* Green energy supplier airtricity has signed a €10 million power purchase contract with ESB's Wind Energy Subsidiary, Hibernian Wind Power.
Under the deal, airtricity will purchase renewable power from HWP's wind farm at Carnsore Point in Co Wexford.
