Summary
- Atlas Arteria witnessed softer traffic on its APRR French networks due to the second lockdown in France.
- Warnow Tunnel- Germany traffic reduced almost 20-25% as compared to the traffic levels of 2019.
- Traffic was 40% down in Dulles Greenway-Virginia during the last two weeks.
Private toll roads operator Atlas Arteria (ASX:ALX) has updated the market regarding the current COVID-19-related movement restrictions in Europe. The Company also highlighted the impact of these restrictions on its networks and the traffic performance at Dulles Greenway.
Let us discuss more about the recent traffic performance:
APRR France Traffic has been more resilient during the first two weeks
Atlas Arteria updated that the recent lockdown measures in France, from 29 October 2020, have caused softer traffic at APRR’s French networks. However, during the first two weeks of the lockdown, traffic has been more robust compared to that during the lockdown earlier in the year.
Moreover, traffic has been down around half of what it was during late March and April (in percentage terms) relative to 2019.
The Company highlighted that in the current lockdown, heavy vehicle traffic had fared pretty well, tracking the performance of the third quarter.
On the APRR network, November traffic was lowest for light vehicle traffic.
Traffic Down by 20-25% in Warnow Tunnel – Germany
Atlas Arteria stated that since 2 November 2020, traffic has gone down by almost 20-25% compared to the traffic levels of 2019.
On 2 November 2020, Germany entered ‘lockdown light’ for a 4-week period. The lockdown is not as restrictive as the initial lockdown during March-April, as the COVID-19 case count in Germany is not surging as quickly as in other European countries.
Dulles Greenway, Virginia reports a Drop of ~40% in traffic
The operator stated that since the third quarter, it has reported a 44.8% lower traffic volume as compared to 2019 levels. During the third quarter, Atlas witnessed a slow yet steady traffic improvement. In the last two weeks, traffic was down 40% compared to the same period in 2019.
Until recently, the restrictions in Virginia had continued to ease since the relaxation began in July 2020.
On 13 November, the Governor disclosed some new measures to slow the spread of the pandemic in Virginia, including restrictions in gatherings (limited to 25 people) and in the hours of operations, including the sale of alcohol in dining establishments.
Atlas Arteria also stated that the Company would provide a further traffic update in the fourth quarter traffic release (to be provided to the market in January).
Stock Information: On 20 November 2020, the shares of ALX were trading at A$6.760, down by 2.029% (at AEDT 01:06 PM). The market capitalisation of Atlas stood at A$6.61 billion.
