It was enough to cheer Kapsch TrafficCom shareholders and the stock rose 3,2% on the news.
There appears though to have been little understanding of the furore the statement would cause in SA, as Kapsch TrafficCom's joint venture is with the Electronic Tolling Co (ETC), the company that was awarded the R6,2bn contract to collect the tolls from the Gauteng open road tolling system.
News that the Austrian company was to make a €50m from Gauteng motorists caused a storm of protest.
The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) said it was "appalled" that a foreign company was profiting from SA road users. "This is further evidence that e-tolls amount to the commodification of our highways - a business opportunity for a private company rather than a basic public service for the community," Cosatu said.
The SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) was forced into damage control, denying that R660m was going to flow back to Kapsch TrafficCom shareholders from its contract with Sanral.
"E-tolling is not a money-making scheme. The money collected from e-tolling tariffs goes into a Sanral account. That is money that belongs to South Africans.
"From it, Sanral will pay ETC strictly for services rendered and according to the tendered rates, including repaying the loans raised to build the roads," says Sanral spokesman Vusi Mona
Mona denies that R660m is leaving the country, saying those who made the claim "cannot distinguish between revenue, operating costs and profits" - forgetting that it was a claim made by the Kapsch TrafficCom directors.
Mona's comments were not well received by Kapsch TrafficCom shareholders. They wiped R121m off the market capitalisation just a day after his statement.
Source: Financial Mail via I-Net Bridge
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