Ventia to divest Toowoomba Second Range Crossing

GENERAL

Mon, Jan 20 2025 11:32 am

Ventia has entered into an agreement to divest Toowoomba Second Range Crossing

Ventia Services Group (ASX:VNT) has today announced it has entered into an agreement with a Joint Venture between ACCIONA and Ferrovial (the “JV”), for the novation of the operations and maintenance (O&M) contract and all associated PPP agreements on the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing (TSRC). The TSRC is a 41km open road bypass to the north and west of Toowoomba and was constructed under a PPP in which Ventia is the O&M Services Provider. The contract was purchased as part of the acquisition of Broadspectrum in 2020 and is scheduled to expire in 2043.

The JV has agreed to pay $6.3 million to Ventia for the novation. The novation will reduce Ventia’s work in hand by ~$340 million. Ventia is also holding provisions associated with this contract, which will be unwound as a result of the novation.

Ventia will recognise the profit from this transaction as a Significant Item against Statutory Profit in its financial statements for the period ending 30 June 2025 (HY25). Ventia anticipates a positive one-off impact to HY25 Statutory NPATA, from the profit on sale and release of provisions in the range of ~$20-25 million. As a result, Ventia will also publish an underlying HY25 NPATA based on company performance excluding this one-off impact.

Ventia Managing Director and Group CEO, Dean Banks said, “As one of Australia’s largest essential services providers, we operate in a broad market with significant opportunities for organic growth. This novation de-risks our portfolio, enabling our teams to concentrate on opportunities that align more closely with our growth objectives.”

This announcement has been authorised for release by the Ventia Board.