”2014’s impressive results appear to be continuing and provide a positive start to the year, with traffic growth for all vehicle types. The mild winter weather usually boosts traffic growth and we’ve also been helped by continuing low interest rates and inflation, which have halved our interest expenses compared to last year. All in all, this has given us a reasonable result for the first quarter of the year,” says Sund & Bælt’s CEO Leo Larsen.
Revenue from road traffic across Storebælt increased by 4.7 per cent while there was a fall in revenue from the railway. This is due to the fact that the annual rail fee due to Storebælt has been reduced by DKK 200 million as a consequence of the government’s growth package from the summer of 2014.
In total, this means a fall in operating profit to DKK 568 million compared to DKK 582 million for the same period last year.
Following Q1, A/S Storebælt’s interest-bearing net debt is DKK 23.5 billion. The repayment period is calculated at 31 years from the time of the opening of the Storebælt fixed link, which corresponds to 2029.
The Group’s interest expenses totalled DKK 76 million, which is DKK 84 million lower than the same period last year when they amounted to an expense of DKK 160 million.
Value adjustments had a negative impact on the result for the period at DKK 1,103 million against an expense of DKK 461 million for Q1 2014.
Inflation is expected to rise during 2015. The outlook for the annual result, therefore, remains at a profit of DKK 1,820 million before financial value adjustments and tax.
Read the full interim report here.
Consolidated results for Sund & Bælt Group 1 January – 31 March*
| DKK million | 2015 | 2014 |
| Revenue, road (Storebælt) | 627 | 599 |
| Revenue, railway (Storebælt and Øresund landworks) | 175 | 223 |
| Other income, incl. port fees and revenue from wind turbines | 22 | 21 |
| Total income | 824 | 843 |
| Operating expenses | -100 | -105 |
| Depreciation | -156 | 156 |
| Operating profit (EBIT) | 568 | 582 |
| Interest expenses | -76 | -160 |
| Profit before value adjustment | 492 | 422 |
| Value adjustment **) | -1.103 | -461 |
| Result before share from Øresundsbro Konsortiet | -611 | -39 |
| Øresundsbro Konsortiet’s share of result ***) | -155 | 33 |
| Loss before tax | -766 | -72 |
| Tax | 168 | 16 |
| Loss after tax | -598 | -56 |
*The Sund & Bælt Group’s accounts include the results of the 100 per cent owned subsidiaries A/S Storebælt, A/S Øresund, A/S Femern Landanlæg, Femern A/S, Sund & Bælt Partner A/S and BroBizz A/S and for the Danish part of Øresundsbro Konsortiet, which is responsible for the operations of the Øresund Bridge.
**) The fair value adjustment is an accounting principle whereby, in respect of financial reporting, changes in the value of financial assets and liabilities are established at their market value: that is, the value they would have in the market if they were traded. The value adjustment has no effect on the companies’ debt repayment capacity.
***) Øresundsbro Konsortiet’s share of the result is an expense of DKK 259 million for the period relating to value adjustments. The result before value adjustments is a profit of DKK 104 million. In total, the result before value adjustments and tax for the Group, including Øresundsbro Konsortiet is a profit of DKK 596 million.
Vehicle traffic across the bridges 1 January – 31 March
| Storebælt | Øresund | |||||
| Number of vehicles per day | 2015 | 2014 | Growth | 2015 | 2014 | Growth |
| Passenger cars | 23,763 | 22,669 | 48 % | 15,033 | 14,467 | 3.9 % |
| Lorries | 3,408 | 3,382 | 2.9 % | 1,198 | 1,127 | 6.9 % |
| Coaches | 72 | 56 | 28.5 % | 85 | 77 | 9.8 % |
| Total | 27,316 | 26,107 | 4.6 % | 16,316 | 15,672 | 4.2 % |