Toll suspension costs TJH US$3.5m but revenue and profit still top forecast
TRANSJAMAICAN Highway Limited (TJH) reported lost revenues of an estimated US$3.5 million after the Government temporarily lifted toll barriers ahead of Hurricane Melissa in October, according to its recently released unaudited financial statements, but the disruption was not enough to knock the highway operator off course.
The company still surpassed its 2025 revenue and profit targets, underscoring the resilience of traffic flows on Highway 2000.
The toll suspension, ordered by the minister of transport before and after the late-October hurricane, resulted in 15 days of foregone collections across the toll network.
“Our attorneys have advised that these actions breached TJH’s right to protection of property rights and to equitable treatment by a public authority in the exercise of its functions and therefore requires compensation. We continue to have discussions with the toll authority in this regard,” TJH said in its report as it seeks to recover the lost revenue.
Even with that interruption, TJH generated US$91.16 million or $14.41 billion in toll revenue for the year ended December 2025, exceeding its original projection of US$87 million to US$90 million. The result also comfortably surpassed the US$73.9 million forecast outlined in its 2020 prospectus and represented ten per cent growth over the US$82.82 million earned in 2024.
The fourth quarter reflected the impact of the suspension and higher costs. Revenue declined four per cent from US$22.38 million to US$21.78 million. The revenue shortfall, combined with a 36 per cent rise in operating expenses, pushed profit before tax down 14 per cent to US$10.98 million, while net profit fell eight per cent to US$8.61 million ($1.36 billion).
For the full year, however, earnings momentum remained intact. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization improved eight per cent to US$71.8 million, within the US$69 million to US$73 million range targeted by management. After accounting for higher operating expenses, net profit grew 17 per cent to US$36.68 million ($5.80 billion) for 2025, exceeding the US$33-million projection announced in November.
The Phase 1C expansion — which runs from May Pen in Clarendon to Williamsfield in Manchester — is expected to have a more meaningful earnings impact in 2026 after TJH commenced operations on the corridor on December 27, 2025. The company paid National Road Operating and Constructing Company Limited (NROCC) US$20.3 million in October 2025 for the right to operate the new leg and disclosed a total investment of US$22.13 million in the Phase 1C concession. The segment is operated through its subsidiary, TransJam Highway Operators Limited.
Operationally, the company continued to push electronic toll adoption. TJH added Bill Express as a payment partner to allow toll users to top up their T-Tag accounts more easily. Managing Director Ivan Anderson told investors in November that the company aims to increase T-Tag usage from roughly 50 per cent to 80 per cent in the coming years by expanding electronic lane access and broadening payment options to speed up transactions.
TJH’s asset base rose two per cent to US$299.38 million, with cash holdings of US$15.92 million. Total liabilities declined to US$217.49 million, while shareholders’ equity stood at US$81.89 million, reflecting continued deleveraging alongside dividend payments.
On the market, TJH’s Jamaican dollar stock closed Tuesday at $6.66, leaving it up 45 per cent in 2026 and valuing the company at $83.31 billion. The US dollar shares peaked at an intraday high of US$0.0480 before closing at US$0.0458, up 48 per cent year to date. By comparison, NROCC’s March 2025 offer for sale was priced at $3.60 or US$0.0228 per ordinary share.
TJH paid an annualised dividend of $0.255, totalling $3.19 billion or US$20 million in 2025 — 35 per cent higher than the 2024 payout — translating to a dividend yield of 3.83 per cent.
The company’s 8.0 per cent preference share closed Tuesday at $1.80, down three per cent. TJH redeemed five per cent, or 134.97 million preference shares, in July 2025 and a further 15 per cent, or an estimated 405 million shares, on January 22. With US$1.896 million paid in preference share dividends for 2024, the company is projected to pay approximately $241.92 million or US$1.542 million in preference dividends for 2026.
TJH will host its investor briefing on Friday at 9:00 am. Interested parties can watch via the company’s
YouTube channel.