Toll road operator Atlas Arteria is confronting a headline revenue decline after foreign exchange movements pushed reported toll income down 8.1% in the second quarter. Underneath the currency hit, revenue was only 0.3% lower year on year when exchange rate effects were excluded.
Atlas Arteria cited shifting driving behaviour, particularly in France, where higher fuel prices are weighing on light vehicle traffic. Traffic is moving in the other direction in the US and Germany, where the group is seeing positive growth across its toll road portfolio.
The company is also shoring up its balance sheet, putting in place a new three-year corporate term loan facility worth $150 million. That funding line sits alongside an existing $50 million working capital facility, which was rolled for another three years in May.
Those financing moves give Atlas Arteria more flexibility as it manages volatile macro conditions, from currency swings to fuel price shocks that affect traffic volumes. The mix of weaker French light vehicle demand and growth in the US and Germany shows how regional trends can offset each other across a global network.
