Macquarie Infrastructure Shows Resilience in H1 Despite COVID-19... Dividend Yield at 6.2%

Operating Revenue 191.2 Billion KRW... 1.2% Increase Compared to Previous Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Macquarie Infrastructure Fund's fund management income increased compared to last year despite the COVID-19 situation in the first half of the year. The dividend yield for the first half was set at 6.2%.

According to Macquarie Infrastructure Fund on the 3rd, fund management income for the first half (January to June) was 191.2 billion KRW, a 1.2% increase compared to the same period last year. Net profit was 169 billion KRW, up 2.7% during the same period. The number of fund investors increased by about 20,000 in six months, from around 40,000 at the end of 2019 to about 60,000 as of the end of June this year. The proportion of domestic institutional and individual investors is about 80%.

Dividends for the first half were fixed at 360 KRW per share. Based on the stock price on the dividend record date, June 30 (11,400 KRW), this corresponds to an annual yield of about 6.2%, slightly exceeding last year's first half dividend of 350 KRW per share.

Macquarie Infrastructure has currently invested or committed to invest in 13 domestic private sector projects. The road projects in operation include 11 roads such as the Cheonan-Nonsan Expressway and the Yongin-Seoul Expressway. Among the road projects, nine projects (excluding assets such as Incheon Bridge and Incheon International Airport Expressway connecting Yeongjongdo) saw traffic volume decrease by 2.9% in the first half compared to the same period last year due to COVID-19, but traffic volume in the second quarter of this year increased by more than 10% compared to the previous quarter.

Traffic volume on Incheon Bridge and Incheon International Airport Expressway fell to about 80% of the previous year due to a decrease in airport users, but the 'Minimum Revenue Guarantee System,' under which the competent authority compensates for a certain level of income, is applied, so the financial impact is limited. In the case of BNCT Co., Ltd., which operates the Busan New Port Phase 2-3 terminal, concerns about performance due to the global decline in cargo volume caused by COVID-19 were high, but operating revenue rose 3.1% to 58.9 billion KRW compared to the same period last year, thanks to increased cargo container handling fees and cost-saving efforts.

The company expects to receive positive effects in the future due to the promotion of the Korean New Deal project. The government is promoting the activation of private sector projects related to the Korean New Deal and has provided tax benefits such as exemption from comprehensive financial taxation on dividend income up to an investment amount limit of 10 million KRW for public infrastructure funds.

Seobeom Sik, CEO of Macquarie Asset Management, said, “Since Macquarie Infrastructure was listed in 2006, it has faced several difficult challenges over the past 14 years, but it has steadily grown with investors' trust and established itself as a representative public fund in the capital market. We successfully completed a rights offering in 2017 and still have borrowing capacity, so we are looking for new investment opportunities.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.