AG Kimi Makwetu confirms that the expected credit losses by Sanral's e-toll trade were R10.04 billion.
SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) announced on Friday 27 September that low payment rates by motorists resulted in revenue received from e-tolls on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) slumping 63 percent to R687.7 million in the year ended March from R1.87 billion in 2018.
Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu confirmed that the value of expected credit losses by Sanral’s e-toll trade and other receivables at the end of its financial year was an impairment of R10.04 billion of R10.96 billion. The impairment resulted in the remaining balance of Sanral’s trade and receivables dropping to R1.14 billion.
The key results highlighted were:
- Sanral reported a profit after finance costs of R2.42 billion.
- Revenue for the year from non-toll operations declined by 23 percent to R6.97 billion, which Sanral attributes largely to the transfer of R5.75 billion to the toll portfolio.
- Toll revenue from operations declined by 18 percent to R4.24 billion from R5.19 billion in the previous year.
- Sanral’s cash and cash equivalents increased to R8.74 billion at end-March from R7.64 billion in the previous year.
- To address the shortfall, government extended Sanral a R439 million grant in addition to a R5.75 billion portion of the non-toll grant.
- Because of the R5.75 billion non-toll grant, the non-toll portfolio reported a R96 million operating loss for the year compared to R1.1 billion profit in the previous year, with income declining by 23.9 percent, and the toll portfolio reported an operating profit after finance charges of R2.51 billion, with a 56.1 percent increase in income for toll operations.
- Makwetu said that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on Sanral’s ability to continue as a going concern.
- He adds that Sanral’s funding strategy for the next 12 months relating to toll operations is dependent on positive developments to resolve the e-toll impasse and Sanral raising funding either from government grants of further borrowings.
