Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Atlas Arteria 2024 Results Presentation. All participants are in listen-only mode. There will be a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session. If you wish to ask a question, you will need to press the star key followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. Due to legal restrictions, we are only able to communicate directly with eligible shareholders and investors with respect to their eligibility to invest in Atlas Arteria securities.
Details in relation to the ownership restrictions that apply to persons in the United States and other U.S. persons that are not qualified purchasers are set out on our website under U.S. ownership restrictions. Please refrain from asking questions in relation to our securities if you do not meet these criteria, as we are legally restricted from answering those questions on this call. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Hugh Wehby, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead.
Thank you, Rocco. Good morning, everyone, and welcome. I'm delighted to present Atlas Arteria's full-year results today. Of course, my first as CEO. I'd like to begin by acknowledging the Wurundjeri people, who are the traditional owners and custodians of the land from which we're presenting today. I'd also like to pay my respects to the elders past and present of the Kulin Nation. We respect and value the importance of preserving our traditional owners, cultures, and customs. Today, our CFO, David Collins, and I will walk you through the presentation we launched with the ASX this morning.
I'll start with some of the highlights, and then David will take you through both our operational and our overall financial performance. And of course, you'll have the opportunity to ask questions at the end. So jumping right in, 2024 was a year of solid financial performance. Proportional revenue was up at all businesses, with traffic growth of 0.6%. This speaks to the strength and resilience of our business. We're diversified and well-positioned in the current reasonably challenging macroeconomic environment. As a result, we'll deliver on our guidance of $0.40 per security in distributions for 2024.
We achieved growth in the face of challenges at two of our businesses, which I'll cover in detail a little later. So in 2024, we certainly grew earnings, but we also importantly grew value in the business. The signing of the A412 concession is a great example of how we are working in partnership with Eiffage to ensure our long-term presence in France. Across our businesses, we continue to improve the customer experience. We've added payment options and commissioned a multimodal hub on the APRR network and installed new dynamic signage at Skyway.
Our annual report released today gives more detail on these and other initiatives. But let's talk to our sustainability performance on the next slide. So I first want to acknowledge and start by saying we were disappointed to miss our large business safety target, with APRR reporting a lost-time injury frequency rate of 4.85 due to a rise in manual handling and slip and fall incidents. Safety is non-negotiable, and we're working alongside management to refocus our efforts here. We have retained our safety targets in the 2025 short-term incentive framework.
Our newly appointed Group Executive, People and Culture, Geraldine Leslie, has an impressive safety track record. She has led transformational safety programs which have delivered sustained improvements in safety and leadership culture. Moving to diversity, we exceeded our gender target of 40% female representation across all employees and for independent directors at board level. But we missed this target at the senior executive level due to recent changes on the executive committee and its direct reports.
Let me be clear that diversity is more than just a target for us. As a global company, we are committed to creating a culture where everyone feels they can contribute their best. Diverse teams bring richness of thinking and unique viewpoints, that challenge the status quo and lead to better solutions for all of our stakeholders. Moving on to climate, and I'm pleased to share that we achieved our Scope 1 and 2 emissions target a full year early, and we now have our sights firmly set on our 2030 target of a 46% emissions reduction. Overall, this slide is clearly about more than ticking boxes.
For those targets we missed, our ambitions remain unchanged, and we'll strive harder in 2025 and beyond to achieve these goals. Moving to Slide 8, I started at Atlas around 100 days ago, and this just provides some initial high-level observations. All in all, we have excellent foundations. We have a portfolio of quality businesses with latent value opportunities, which represent a very strong platform from which we will continue to grow. It's obvious to me that we have a deeply committed and experienced leadership team.
With this leadership, we've driven success, and it's fair to say that over the past year, we've also faced some significant challenges, namely at APRR and at the Dulles Greenway, and I'll cover this more in the next couple of slides. Finally, I see huge benefit in our strategic partnerships. These are dynamic relationships that require ongoing investment, communication, and collaboration to drive mutual competitive advantages. The word mutual really is key here.
We know we bring a lot to the table, but we don't necessarily have the right to compete in every jurisdiction on our own. And that's where the strength of our partnerships comes into play with our equity partners such as Eiffage and Ontario Teachers, as well as key non-equity partners like MBIA and our limited partners in Dulles Greenway. So going forward, you'll see we're very focused on deepening and broadening these important relationships. But at the end of the day, continuing to deliver value for all of our investors is what drives us. And in that context, we have three clear strategic priorities.
Firstly, we optimize performance to maximize cash flows from our business. In particular, unlocking the cash from Dulles Greenway is something I'm very focused on. But another component of this strategy is ensuring a robust long-term presence in all markets. This involves delivering superior service to our customers while working in partnership with governments and, importantly, benefiting the communities in which we operate. Moving to the second strategic priority, we enhance our competitive position by nurturing the strategic partnerships I mentioned earlier.
This also involves capturing the associated growth opportunities that complement our existing businesses. Our third strategic priority is to ensure that we deliver efficient portfolio capital management. This is about optimizing the capital structures at each of our individual businesses and across our portfolio as a whole. Underpinning these three strategies is a personal passion of mine, which is effective leadership, and when I talk about leadership, I mean both our executive committee as well as the business leaders who are responsible for APRR, Skyway, Greenway, and the Warnow Tunnel.
What stands out to me about our leadership is the depth and breadth of expertise in our team across the global infrastructure and transport industries. There are such diverse skill sets and a genuine shared passion for becoming a truly cohesive, high-performing team. It's exciting to be leading the next phase of this business's leadership journey, but some brief specifics on the team. I mentioned the appointment of Geraldine Leslie to the Group Executive, People and Culture role, which also captures safety. I'm really excited to welcome her officially to the team in early April.
At Skyway, we're well progressed in appointing a new CEO and expect to make an announcement in the coming months, and during the year, we also appointed new Atlas Arteria and non-Atlas Arteria directors at several of our businesses, encouraging fresh thinking and the exchange of new ideas. Overall, while the strategy that you see on screen isn't brand new, we're approaching it with renewed emphasis and energy as we tackle the challenges, capture opportunities, and, importantly, leverage our competitive advantages.
But what are our immediate priorities? Well, as I mentioned, there are two key issues we're facing into. And let me start at Dulles Greenway. We were disappointed when the Virginia State Corporation Commission denied our rate case application for toll increases during 2024. For context, we have not received an increase in peak tolls at the Greenway since 2019. We've spent significant time examining the decision and working closely with our advisors on a considered response. In particular, we're working to protect the Greenway's legal rights and explore all avenues to unlock the business's cash flow potential.
Our approach includes both legal and consultative strategies, and we're committed to open constructive dialogue to find a solution that works for and benefits all stakeholders. So, moving to some specific arms of our strategy. Firstly, we're undertaking legal action. This includes an appeal in the Supreme Court as well as a federal court dispute seeking a variety of forms of relief, which we announced earlier this week. Of course, we will keep the market informed as we reach major milestones in each of these actions. Secondly, we're engaging with key external stakeholders via working groups as we work on our subsequent rate case application.
This is a new approach, which will mean our people from Atlas and Dulles Greenway can meet with representatives from the State Corporation Commission, Virginia Department of Transportation, and Loudoun County during the process of drafting a new application. Practically, this means we can deal with their perspectives in real time prior to the submission of that next rate case. Thirdly, we're continuing to work with stakeholders to pursue a structural solution that allows the business to achieve a reasonable return in the medium and long term, and this may involve some legislative change.
Finally, we're looking at new initiatives that might allow us to become more efficient as well as capture additional revenue streams in the underlying business. Further, with the fresh perspective and expertise of a new independent director of Greenway and a new Atlas Arteria executive in the U.S., we're taking a holistic approach that will allow us to not only focus on tolls, but to also improve the underlying business and capitalize on the growing traffic base, and David will cover this a little bit more later. The next key priority is in France.
As I said before, targeting a robust and long-term presence in that market. We're really pleased that during 2024, an APRR and Eiffage consortium signed a 55-year concession on the A412. And together, we're actively looking at one further growth opportunity of this kind. The next 12 to 18 months will be quite important as we get more clarity on what the future looks like for private road concessions in France. This timeline is defined by the first of our peer concessions expiring in 2031 being SANEF . So this will be a very important period for us to decide how we best compete for future opportunities. Of course, it has been an unstable time politically in France.
Just this month, a new temporary supplemental tax was introduced for 2025, and this came on the back of the new French tax imposed on companies operating long-distance transport infrastructure from January 2024, otherwise known as the TILD. While there is little we can do about the temporary tax, APRR continues to take a very strong position on the TILD. The first step involves a judicial review for an abuse of power before the French Council of State, which is expected to conclude during 2025. If this fails, APRR is proposing to file a contractual compensation claim against the French state, as well as considering other avenues of recourse.
Moving now to Slide 11 and another important focus. An optimum capital structure empowers us to deliver on our promises to investors. Of course, it's a large driver of the distributions we ultimately pay to you, but it's also an important factor in how we unlock further value in our businesses, grow, and become more sustainable over time. Take, for example, the team's success in working with our partners at APRR to enhance the short and medium-term cash flows. In a year where we were significantly impacted by the TILD, this agreement has allowed more cash to flow to investors.
We're also thinking strategically about how we can optimize both debt amortization and capital releases across the portfolio. Our businesses are at different stages of their life cycles, and that creates some capital flexibility. When I came on board, I spoke with many of our largest investors and listened to their feedback on distributions. The uncertain fiscal environment in France, combined with the rate case decision on the Dulles Greenway, has driven valid concerns about our distributions, and I definitely heard a call for certainty and clarity on this issue. And that leads me to Slide 12.
Today, we are providing distribution guidance of AUD 0.40 per security for 2025, and also restating our target of at least AUD 0.40 per security for future distributions, supported by our growing free cash flow. In addition to this guidance, we have introduced a distribution policy. We will pay 90%-110% of free cash flow to give investors more clarity beyond a one-year distribution guidance horizon. Given the impact of the temporary supplemental tax, 2025 is a transition year.
Therefore, the 2025 distribution is expected to be above the policy range, but importantly, excluding the impact of this additional tax, we would expect to be within the guidance range. During my initial period here, David and I have carefully reviewed our capital allocation framework, which ultimately led to a refined approach to how we think about free cash flow. This new approach allows future capital releases to be used to offset scheduled debt amortization at our businesses to optimize cash flows.
This will first become relevant in several years' time when we will have used the EUR 200 ,000,000 special reserves at Financière Eiffarie , which are currently covering the amortization payments there. In addition, and as a reminder, in 2028, Warnow Tunnel is scheduled to commence amortizing a small amount of debt. For clarity, we will have the ability to use future Skyway regearing funds to offset amortization at these businesses, capped to the amount of that amortization in any one year. In the meantime, we will continue to use the current cash on hand to support the AUD 0.40 per security target.
We don't expect the future capital release proceeds to be particularly significant, but I do believe it is essential to use all the tools at our disposal to drive investor returns, and an efficient portfolio capital structure is part of that. The rest of our free cash flow definition remains the same and is shown in detail in the appendix on Slide 35. Moving to Slide 13 and a snapshot of this new capital allocation framework. I've already talked about our focus to optimize cash flows from our businesses, and I also mentioned our refined free cash flow definition.
As investors, be assured that the first call on free cash flow is your distribution. Our interaction with the capital markets crucially provides opportunities to restructure debt as our businesses mature, and right now, as mentioned, that primarily applies to Chicago Skyway. Under this framework, we have three clear options for deploying surplus capital. Firstly, we can pay out distributions above 100% of free cash flow up to the guided 110% level. Secondly, we can reinvest into accretive opportunities across our businesses. Or thirdly, we can provide additional equity investor returns, for example, by way of a special distribution.
Taken together, our 2025 distribution guidance, our future targeted distribution of at least AUD 0.40 per security, our new distribution policy, and this capital allocation framework are all about giving you the market transparency and clarity in the medium term. I'll now hand over to David to walk you through the operational and financial update. Over to you, David.
Thanks, Hugh. It's great to be presenting alongside you today. Firstly, I'd like to acknowledge that today's presentation looks a little different from past periods. If you have any questions about that, please get in touch with our investor relations team. But now let's dive in. This slide shows a positive story of solid growth in toll revenue and EBITDA over the past five years, with the key drivers being traffic growth and inflation-linked tolls.
As Hugh mentioned, our 2024 revenue growth was mostly attributable to toll increases, with traffic growth of 0.6%. EBITDA was impacted by the TILD, the French transport infrastructure tax, but this was offset by growth at Chicago Skyway, Dulles Greenway, and Warnow Tunnel. This was a reflection of the strength of our diversified portfolio, which also applied to our traffic results. I'll go into more detail on that in the following slides. Let's move on to our largest business, APRR. It had a solid year with results primarily driven by February toll increases of around 3%.
Overall, traffic was up 0.4%, weighed down by the impact of farmer strikes in the Q1 . Light vehicle traffic was 0.6% higher, while heavy vehicle traffic decreased by 0.6%. This heavy vehicle traffic aligns with the decline of Spanish and French trade with the rest of Europe. The TILD impacted EBITDA by EUR 123 ,000,000, hence the dilution of the margin. As a reminder, unlike the recently legislated temporary supplemental tax, the TILD applies indefinitely. As Hugh mentioned, APRR is contesting this tax with a two-step approach.
On a positive note, in July, we agreed with our partners on a number of capital management initiatives to optimize the free cash flow from APRR over the next few years. Yesterday, we announced the refinancing of Financière Eiffarie had taken place exactly as we had forecast and discussed with investors. This materially reduces the amortization in the next five years, down to an average of EUR 55 ,000,000 per annum. We also released EUR 200 ,000,000 of retained earnings in June 2024, which were previously trapped within APRR. These will fund these amortization payments until around 2027.
Now to Chicago Skyway, which delivered a strong financial result, with toll revenue up 5.3%, driven by toll increases of around 9% for light vehicles. In turn, this drove an EBITDA increase of 3.9%. During the year, we completed a routine refinancing at Skyway, issuing $205 ,000,000 of notes, which increased the level of fixed-rate debt to 93%. The proceeds were used to repay debt maturing in 2024 and 2026. No other new debt was issued as part of the transaction. Operationally, we are continuing to add value to this business. We upgraded the back-office system, which collects data from the roadside to allow effective tracking and collection of tolls.
And work on our asset management program continues. This will transition the Skyway to a proactive whole-of-life approach to maintenance. We've now engaged various third-party firms to work with the in-house team on design, procurement, and delivery. Onto our second U.S. business, Dulles Greenway, which experienced strong traffic growth driven by higher weekday traffic volumes. We've observed that strong economic growth and the return to office-based work has increased congestion on competing routes. This makes the Greenway a more attractive, reliable option, especially during the week when drivers value time savings the most.
The business's liquidity remains strong despite being in lock-up, with $201,9 00,000 in cash as of 31 December, and as you heard from Hugh, we are focusing on our multi-pronged strategy to get the business optimized and cash flowing. Let's move to Warnow Tunnel, which I'm pleased to say delivered another strong year. Traffic was positively impacted by roadworks on competing routes, and we also saw strong toll increases of 8.4%. The combined result was a toll revenue increase of 14.2% and an EBITDA increase of 17.3%.
This year, we commissioned a new asset management system in the tunnel that digitalizes operations and maintenance processes and enables faster response times to operational issues. Turning to the detail of our financial performance for 2024. As this summary shows, 2024 net profit after tax was up 7.4%. However, given our two largest businesses, APRR and Chicago Skyway, are equity accounted, the proportionate financials provide a clearer indication of business performance. Our proportional toll revenue was up 5.1%, driven by steady traffic and toll increases across the majority of our businesses.
Proportional EBITDA was up 0.4% due to the impact of the TILD in France. Centralized costs, including some implementation costs associated with our new operating model, but excluding CEO transition costs of $1,3 00,000, were in line with guidance. Corporate cost guidance for 2025 is $29,000,000-$31 ,000,000, excluding CEO transition costs of $1,9 00,000. Centralized business unit costs are expected to be AUD 8-AUD 10 ,000,000. This guidance results in 2025 costs being broadly in line with 2024 actuals.
Operating free cash flow was AUD 0.363 per security, up 16% from 2023. On the next slide, our income statement shows our financial performance compared to 2023. Profitability was supported by solid traffic and higher tolls at APRR, plus the gain from the MAF2 capital increase in July 2024. We delivered total revenue growth of 9%, primarily driven by an increase in toll revenues at both Dulles Greenway and Warnow Tunnel. The weakening Australian dollar against the US dollar and the Euro also contributed to this. Operating business costs increased primarily at Dulles Greenway.
This was due to legal fees relating to our rate case application, costs associated with a new violation enforcement system, as well as an increase in the maintenance provision at Warnow Tunnel. The share of profit line incorporates the equity accounted profit at APRR, which was negatively impacted by the TILD. Let's turn to our proportional EBITDA result, which was broken down by each business. As expected, APRR is the largest contributor, making up 82% of our 2024 proportionate EBITDA.
The ownership dilution at APRR Group and ADELAC, which took effect in July 2024, had a minimal negative impact on EBITDA, offset by foreign exchange movements. Proportional EBITDA of $1,380,000,000 was up 0.4% on 2023. I'll now walk you through our cash flow waterfall on Slide 24, which shows how we derive our distributions. Moving from left to right, it shows how distributions flow from APRR to Atlas Arteria. Then there are our corporate cash flows, including distributions from our other businesses and the impact on our cash balance.
Atlas Arteria's pro forma share of the consolidated APRR profit for the second half of 2023 and the first half of 2024 was EUR 334 ,000,000. Our share of the APRR company net profit after tax, which is what drives the size of the distributions, was EUR 329 ,000,000. The difference is consolidation and interest adjustments. The EUR 25 ,000,000 of Financière Eiffarie debt amortization is Atlas Arteria's portion of the EUR 80 ,000,000 of amortization paid during the period. Approximately half of the amortization was funded via the EUR 200 ,000,000 special distribution made by APRR to Financière Eiffarie .
We then deduct any costs and add the ADELAC distributions and MAF2 capital proceeds to get the distribution from MAF2 to Atlas Arteria. Then we account for our corporate cash flows, including distributions from our other businesses, refinancing proceeds, centralized costs, net interest income, and FX translation. After distributions paid in April and October, our cash balance at year-end was $226 ,000,000. Turning now to our debt maturity profile. The left chart shows our euro-denominated debt, which includes APRR, Financière Eiffarie, and Warnow Tunnel. On the right, we show our U.S.-denominated debt, including Chicago Skyway and Dulles Greenway.
There are a few key items to call out here. We completed the refinancing of the Financière Eiffarie debt, which has materially reduced the average annual repayment to EUR 55 ,000,000 per annum over the first five years. At Dulles Greenway, just this month, we have paid $70 ,000,000 of debt service. And at the Atlas Arteria level, there is an undrawn $50 ,000,000 revolving credit facility. We will continue to regularly assess the size and need for this facility. Finally, on Slide 26, we show the funding and liquidity profile for each business.
As you can see, there is a high proportion of fixed-rate debt across our businesses, which has provided protection in the current high-interest rate environment. This is evidenced through the low weighted average cost of debt at the majority of our businesses. We aim to optimize the capital structure at each business backed by investment-grade credit ratings. The strong A and A Minus credit ratings at APRR give us balance sheet flexibility, as well as optionality via our undrawn corporate working capital facility. I'll now hand back to Hugh to wrap up.
Thanks very much, David. In closing, I just wanted to reiterate that I feel really privileged to be here today as Atlas Arteria's new CEO. I'm conscious of the significant responsibility to both our investors and the broader stakeholders, and I'll strive to deliver strong leadership culture and performance for you going forward. But as a team, we're really committed to creating investor value and to providing clarity and transparency along the way. We're urgently addressing safety and will keep striving for significant progress on our well-established sustainability pathway.
As you've heard, we have a clear and focused plan to address the challenges we're facing at APRR and at Dulles Greenway. In many ways, I and the team are invigorated by these challenges and we're determined to tackle them in your best interests. And of course, we're energized by the future and continuing to deliver value from our diverse portfolio of businesses to you, our investors. Thank you very much for listening today. We're going to now open up for questions.
Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. If you wish to cancel your request, please press star two. If you're on a speakerphone, please pick up the handset to ask your question. Please only ask one question at a time and then rejoin the queue to allow others to ask their questions. Today's first question comes from Andre Fromyhr with UBS. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Good morning. Just wondering if we could understand a bit more about the new free cash flow definition and then the guidance on that basis. You quote operating free cash flow of AUD 0.363 per share in the year just gone. So firstly, does that look any different under the new definition? And apologies if that's in the pack. I just haven't found that yet.
And then the comment on that definition around capital releases only being used to the extent that they supplement debt amortization, how does that relate to something like capital releases from Skyway, which would flow through as a distribution from that asset, or would you sort of deliberately back out what's operating versus not in those distributions? Thanks.
Thanks, Andre. Appreciate the question. And I'll also pass to David at the end of this to supplement anything. The AUD 0.363, probably the best way to look at an equivalent under the new definition is to go to our remuneration report, which shows you what the base year 2024 is on the new free cash flow definition, which is around AUD 0.372. So it essentially backs out the amortization from Financière Eiffarie that was covered by existing cash proceeds.
In terms of how to think about it going forward, Andre, we're really looking at amortization that affects distributions to Atlas. So if you look at Slide 35 of the pack, it's not offsetting every piece of amortization. As an example, APRR pays NPAT distributions, not cash flow distributions. So it's not looking to offset APRR. And clearly, Dulles Greenway is not currently distributing, so it's not offsetting the amortization at Dulles Greenway. It is really looking at offsetting the amortization, particularly in the foreseeable future from Financière Eiffarie once we run out of reserves and from the Warnow Tunnel as it commences amortization in 2028.
So it's a limited number, but we did think that the proceeds that we could possibly get from Skyway are most efficiently used there. In terms of how we account for it coming out of Skyway, you're exactly right. We'll separate underlying operating distributions versus the capital releases. David, was there anything you wanted to add?
Sure, Hugh. Thanks. And, Andre, thank you for the question. The two things I would add to what Hugh has said. In terms of capital releases that we will use to offset amortization, they are not significant in the short to medium term. And more specifically, if you think about Financière Eiffarie and you look at the refinancing that we announced yesterday and you look at the capital management initiatives we announced in July of last year, we are covering with existing cash sitting at Financière Eiffarie amortization through for the next four years from the date of those capital management initiatives.
So this is some time out before this will have an impact on the group, and that is quite small in that timeframe from a quantum perspective as well. And just to add to what Hugh also said, the amount of any capital releases that will be included in free cash flow is capped at the amount of the debt amortization. So we can't benefit in free cash flow from capital releases. All we can do is offset amortization payments that have impacted ALX's distributions.
Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you.
And our next question today comes from Suraj Nebhani with Citi. Please go ahead.
Oh, thanks. And good morning, guys. Welcome to the team, Hugh. Just a quick one for you on the Dulles approach. I know you outlined that as one of the key priorities. I guess, can you provide just a bit more color on how you plan to approach? These processes have been going on for a while. I guess, just how do you plan to change things over here? When it's obviously, I don't want to ask the obvious question, but it seems like it may be a while before we get some sort of outcome. So what's your sense of timing there?
Thank you, Suraj, and good to speak to you today. So in terms of the strategy, I think there's some repeat, but there's some very new items there as well. So I think we've got a more diverse approach to contesting the rate case outcome from 2024. So just briefly stepping through them again, we have two legal cases going on. One is a Supreme Court of Virginia appeal to the ruling around the rejection of our rate case from 2024. So that's an appeal of the finding from the SCC of 2024.
The second is a federal litigation, which, among other things, claims compensation for the taking of private property for the benefit of the public without just compensation. Both of those are new processes. The third is a development of a new rate case. And that is not new. However, the approach we're taking before the development and submission of that rate case is brand new. So we are now in a working group, which the State Corporation Commission did indicate they wanted us to do as part of their ruling last year.
And that working group includes the State Corporation Commission representatives, Virginia Department of Transportation reps, Loudoun County reps, Atlas, and Dulles Greenway reps. So we will get a lot of information about their thoughts before submitting the next rate case. And finally, we are looking at the broader business.
And David mentioned some of the performance and the efforts we're putting in there, but the underlying business is an important source of cash flow clearly as well. So I think we're going probably harder than we have historically. We're pulling more levers. In terms of timing, I don't want to preempt the timing. None of these litigation processes are short term. But in terms of preparing a rate case, we plan to be ready for that in the reasonably near term.
Thank you. That's helpful. Thank you.
And our next question comes from Ian Myles with Macquarie. Please go ahead.
Hey, guys. A couple of minor questions. Your labor charges in APRR dropped really sharply in the second half, and I was just sort of wondering what's occurring there. And likewise, depreciation really jumped up in the second half. Have we got an outlook now of quite rapidly growing depreciation given only 10 years in the concession life?
Sure, Ian. Thanks for the question. If I start with depreciation, so depreciation has increased in the period, and we would also expect it to continue to increase in the short term. There's a mathematical, unfortunately, outcome that as the number of years between now and the concession reduces each year, then the useful life reduces also. So as an example, if we spend CapEx this year, we've got circa 10 years left to depreciate it. If we spend the same amount next year, you've got nine years left, etc., etc. So depreciation will continue to rise, and it's just a function of the expiring concession for APRR and Atlas Arteria.
In terms of your question about H2 and labor costs at APRR, that's a function of the accounting at APRR for bonuses for staff in relation to profit sharing. They've got a profit sharing arrangement with staff, which impacts bonuses, and that has a timing impact, half one versus half two.
Okay. Just an aside, if the French government decide to put a second year of this tax on, how do you think about your dividend in that case?
I think the policy and the cash flow scenarios we've outlined today really reflect the current scenario. That's a permanent TILD, as David mentioned, but a temporary one-year impact for the tax calculated as we release to the market on the 14th of February. If that was to persevere for another year, we would have to look at our cash balances and make an assessment at the time, but we haven't preempted that. We have defined the policy to help us guide, but we really would have to look at that at the time as to what the impact is.
Okay. And with Greenway, not Greenway, with Skyway, are you still committed to sort of a readily ongoing refinancing of that asset given the money's coming into you and arguably sitting in the bank for a couple of years? Or are you better off sort of deferring these things in terms of growing the debt balance until later dates?
Sure, Ian. Good question, On Skyway, as you'll have seen in the pack, we've got some reasonably significant refinancing to do in 2026. We've got a bond of $325 ,000,000, and we've got a bank facility and also a CapEx facility. We'll look at that at the time as we plan for that. We'll talk to Ontario Teachers, our joint venture partner. We'll look at market conditions, and we'll make a call as to whether a regearing would make sense for us or not, so we're very open-minded about it, Ian. We're actually starting on that planning process now as we prepare for those 2026 refinancing dates.
Is it fair to say it's not a good thing to just leave the money in the bank, that you might defer that to another regear until 2028 where you might have some more money maturing?
We'll be very conscious of being smart with our capital management, Ian. Yes, it's not logical to have excess funds sitting in the bank. And we'd look back at just refer back to the capital management framework as to try and be smart about how we allocate our capital. So it's a great question, and we absolutely are considering that as we plan for this.
And I'm going to push my luck. On Greenway, do you expect you're going to need any capital if you get through rate cases, court cases, and the likes in the next 12 months? Or is it more a '26 sort of event that you might need some money?
In terms of money, I mean, we're really focused on existing rate cases and existing litigation, all of which we've worked with our LPs and MBIA to ensure that we have the right structures in place to finance them. So I don't see a material call on capital, Ian. If there was legislative change or some other more significant change in the future, we haven't anticipated that. We would have to consider that at the time, but there's nothing planned for the foreseeable future with a significant capital call.
Okay. That's great. Thanks, guys.
Thank you. And our next question today comes from Rob Koh with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
Good morning. Thank you for the presentation. Nice to get a non-surprising presentation this part of reporting season. So I guess if I only get to ask one question, can I ask a question just about your remuneration report? So the 2025 LTI looks like it's or the free cash flow growth part of it looks like it's linked to 2.5%-4% CAGR. And the 2024 LTI was, I think, from memory, 4.2%-5.5%. So obviously, the French taxes have taken a chunk of that. Is there anything else that's changed year on year in that CAGR pathway, please?
And pardon me, everyone. It does appear that we have lost our speaker line. Please stand by while we reconnect them. Mr.Koh , I'm going to place your line on mute while we reconnect the speakers. Please stand by. Thank you, everyone. We have rejoined the speaker location. Mr. Koh, if you would like to proceed with your question again, please.
Okay. I'll repeat the question. So firstly, I started by thanking the Atlas team for a non-surprising result at this part of the reporting season. It's much appreciated. My question was relating to the remuneration report and the component of the long-term incentive that relates to free cash flow growth. So the schedule now looks like 2.5%-4% CAGR on a four-year basis. There's a small base effect, but previously, that growth was 4.2%-5.5%. I guess other than the French tax, we're just wondering if there's any other moving parts in there we should be thinking about, please.
Sure, Rob. Thanks for the question. Apologies for the technical glitch. Other than the factors you pointed out, the other significant impact is at the end of 2023, the intercompany loan arrangements between APRR and AREA expired, which meant that there was a significant uplift in distributions out of APRR into Financière Eiffarie and up to ALX in 2024. The 2023 base year was materially lower, and 2024 was a significant uptick because of that one-off maturity at the end of 2023. That's the other main reason why the new CAGR for the LTI is lower relative to last year's LTI CAGR.
And Rob, just reverting back a little bit to Andre's question, remembering that the 2024 base year has also been adjusted to remove that amortization impact. So it's not the 36 base, it's the 37.2 base for that growth target.
Great. Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Collins. Thank you, Mr. Wehby. All over it, as I would have thought. Maybe you can ask a slightly less technical question. So the Eiffarie refinancing that was announced the other day, congrats on that. That looks like a nice, friendly amortization schedule. Just qualitatively speaking, was this one of these refinancings where you had to go and beg the banks and threaten to tell them off, or were they all clamoring to offer you terms? If you could just give us some color on how the refinancing went, please.
Thanks, Rob. Yeah. The facilities were significantly oversubscribed, and we had, I think it was more than 15 banks involved in the consortium. And so we found the market really constructive and engaging on the terms, remembering that it involved both E and APRR elements of the refinancing. So very positive reception from the market and very comfortable with the outcomes.
Great. Thank you so much.
Thank you. And our next question today comes from Anthony Moulder at Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Good morning, all. If I can swing back to France, obviously, that first concession coming up on the next 12-18 months, as you highlight, any indication you've had as to how the French government will approach that? If you were talking about strong partnerships or strong relationships with some of your investing partners, does that give an indication that you will look at acquiring or being in the mix for some of these new concessions that will start coming up from 2031, please?
Thanks, Anthony. Yeah. The first expiry is Sanef in 2031. The APRR and ADELAC concessions are the last of the major concessions to expire. How are we thinking about it? We're getting some insight from those early concession expiries. There has certainly been negotiation and agreement on various maintenance levels, handback plans, CapEx requirements, and that's given us a lot of clarity and comfort as we go forward into how we might be approached by the regulators in France. That will commence for us in the next couple of years, but we are getting that insight.
In terms of the strategic partnership, we're really conscious that our partner, our major partner, sorry, there are others, but our major partner in France, being Eiffage, is a very big player locally and provides us with a great collaboration. So when we're looking at opportunities under the existing arrangements, like the A412 or the additional opportunity we're looking at now, we continue to partner in the same way. And what our ambition is, albeit without the clarity on what the concessions would look like, is we would continue to partner with them when looking at new opportunities in France.
I think what we wanted to communicate today was our intent is to be a long-term presence in the French infrastructure environment. We believe that our current partnership sets us up well. However, we don't have clarity yet on how the next round of concessions will look, but we'll partner closely with Eiffage to influence that outcome and to work with them on the opportunities.
Thank you. One quicker one, if I can. The new revenue streams that you talked through on screen. What are they exactly, please?
There's a number. We're capitalizing on the enhanced traffic growth, number one, which we're seeing accelerate. And as David mentioned, the congestion on competing routes is really escalating and therefore pushing more traffic onto our route. We also sit within the busiest trafficked internet area in the world with a lot of data centers. So we are considering, as we think about new toll systems, how we could play in the transfer of data using our land area. So embryonic at this point in time, but certainly thinking about how we can capitalize on our physical location being in that internet hub of the world.
Very good. Thank you.
Thank you. And our next question comes from Cameron McDonald with E&P. Please go ahead.
Good morning. Just on Dulles Greenway, coming to the end of the year, can we just get a confirmation that whether or not the Greenway has subsequently failed its lock-up test for the full year, and then that then resets it for the three years? And then what I'm trying to understand is you've said that you and you're not the first CEO of this company to say that they want to release cash out of Dulles, but no one's been able to do it. So other than waiting or then repaying some of the debt as it comes up, what other strategy do you think you can bring to bear there, please?
Thanks, Cameron and I'm conscious I'm not the first. Hopefully, I'm the last, but let's see. You'll be the determiner of that. Cameron, I think I will hand to David at the end of this, but we remain in lock-up at the DG. And so you're absolutely correct in the deferral of the period where cash could flow in the future. In terms of what we're looking at, I think the strategy that we've outlined today, and I've repeated in the Q&A, is more substantive and significant than anything we've done before.
And we're engaging with a broader group of stakeholders, both on the government side but also in the private sector, to look at all angles to release that cash. Success will be determined in the future. However, I do believe we're pulling more levers than ever before, and we will focus on all the opportunities, including the debt structures that you mentioned. David, was there anything you wanted to add?
Thank you. Hi, Cameron. Thanks for the question. And yeah, just confirming what Hugh said. We did fail the lock-up tests, both of the ratios, for 2024. The Investor Reference Pack on page 22, Table 30, gives the outcomes for 2024. So yes, there's a minimum three years lock-up as a result of that.
Okay. Thank you. And then just as an extension on the DG, what exactly is your premise regarding the legal case where you're accusing them taking private property into the public for no compensation? What does that actually relate to, please?
So, Cameron, I won't purport to be a lawyer or to provide technical advice, but what I will say is the federal litigation is primarily around the taking of private property for public benefit without just compensation. It is a constitutional claim under both the Virginia Constitution and the U.S. Constitution.
Sorry, so but what private property do you think they've taken?
Roadway land.
Well, maybe I'll take that offline because I don't quite understand how they've taken the road other than not allowed you to have a toll increase.
A takings is not taking physically. Takings is a financial concept as well as a physical concept.
Right. Okay. Thank you. That makes more sense.
Thank you. And our next question today comes from Adrian Atkins of Morningstar. Please go ahead.
Hi, Hugh. Just on the Greenway, I was just kind of wondering if you have any high-level thoughts to share on Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency, whether it's a net positive or negative for Greenway traffic volumes in terms of things like unemployment in the area or more people returning to the office?
Yeah. Thank you. And it's a complicated question, which you've just outlined the key moving pieces. I think if I just take a step back from the Trump change and the Trump administration Department of Government Efficiency, we had seen increasing congestion on our competing roads prior to that change. And so the traffic benefit you are seeing commenced before November 2024, and we're continuing to see benefit from that congestion on the competing routes. Just a reminder to those on the call, those competing routes have been upgraded pretty much to their full extent.
And so we're starting to see congestion and therefore move to the Greenway. In terms of looking forward, right now, we are seeing more parked cars on the road in and around Washington, D.C. That includes on our road, but clearly isn't limited to it, as people are forced back into the office. The exact net outcome of that with the possibility of a reduced federal workforce is to be determined. We are proximate to D.C., but we are not a main road right into D.C. So the impacts are second order. We are seeing more people on the road right now, but I wouldn't want to indicate that's a permanent trend.
Okay. Thanks. Thank you. And our next question is a follow-up from Rob Koh, MS. Please go ahead.
Thank you. I was actually just going to ask exactly the same question about the impact on Virginia traffic, but maybe let me jump in with another question then. So the slight tweaks, if I can call them that, to the free cash flow definition and the capital allocation plan, should we be thinking that there's just kind of less chance of buyback with the next Skyway refinancing that you're kind of allocating it more towards offsetting amortization, or is that perhaps overthinking it?
Rob, it's not necessarily overthinking it. I think buybacks become relevant when you've got a significant amount of capital, and you can make a meaningful difference to the free flow. I think what we're looking at now, and David mentioned these words, but it's not a significant number in the context of our overall businesses in terms of the capital releases.
So we are seeing this as a better use of capital right now. If for any reason the size and the materiality of those capital releases changed, that would come back on the table. And if you think about the capital allocation chart, the bottom right-hand box talks about further equity returns. That could be via special distribution or via something like a buyback. So it's still in there and possible, but I think with the quantums we're talking about and the offsetting of amortization, it's less likely in the short term.
Okay. Cool. Thank you so much. That's clear.
Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I'll now hand back to Mr. Wehby for closing remarks.
Thank you, everyone, for dialing in, and we look forward to seeing many of you around the grounds in the coming weeks. Appreciate it. Thank you.
That does conclude our Conference for today. Thank you for.