Transjamaican Highway Limited

What it is

TransJamaican Highway Limited holds the concession for TransJam Highways — Jamaica’s first toll road and the largest infrastructure project in the English-speaking Caribbean — a 78.4 km motorway running in two corridors: one linking Kingston to May Pen (T1) and another connecting Portmore to Kingston (T2). The concession runs until 2036, giving TJH predictable cash flows tied to toll rates and traffic volumes.

The company operates toll plazas at May Pen, Vineyards (Old Harbour), Spanish Town and Portmore, and in 2024 incorporated a new subsidiary to manage the May Pen to Williamsfield extension, whose operations officially commenced on December 27, 2025.

Who owns it

TJH was incorporated in 2001 and operates under a 35-year concession agreement with the National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC), the Jamaican state entity that acts as grantor. In December 2019, TJH became fully Jamaican owned, after having previously been held by two French companies, Bouygues Travaux Publics and VINCI Concessions.

Through NROCC, the government held 2.5 billion of the 12.5 billion shares in issue — a 20% stake and the single largest block. In early 2025 NROCC launched a public offering to sell that entire remaining stake, with the offer valued at J$6.3bn (US$39.9m) and open from March 4 to March 18, 2025.

Other large holders include Jamaica Money Market Brokers at 6.0%, Musson Investment Limited at 4.9%, and NCB Capital Markets Barbados at 4.4%.

Who runs it

Ivan Anderson (MBA, B.Sc.) serves as Group CEO, having been appointed Managing Director in April 2021. Susan Brown is CFO of the TransJam Group.

Board chair is not disclosed in available sources following the resignations of Patrick Hylton and Dr. Ventley Brown from the board in May 2025.

The money, in plain words

In the year ended December 31, 2024, TJH took in US$82.82m in toll revenue, a 10% rise on the US$75.20m collected in 2023. It keeps roughly 38 cents of profit from every dollar of tolls collected — a net profit margin of 37.8% (our calculation) — which is exceptional even by global toll-road standards.

For every dollar of shareholders’ equity on the books, TJH earns back nearly 48 cents a year — a return on equity of ~48% (our calculation from US$65.3m equity) that reflects the powerful economics of a captive road with regulated, inflation-linked tariffs. The shares traded at a price-to-earnings ratio of about 10.3× as at February 2025 — modest for an infrastructure monopoly, which explains why analysts rate the stock as undervalued relative to its earnings trajectory.

Total debt stands at US$210.2m against shareholders’ equity of US$73.3m — a debt-to-equity ratio of 286.9%, high in absolute terms but declining steadily as the company amortises its bonds. In 2020 TJH issued US$225m in 5.75% senior secured notes due 2026, and refinancing that wall of debt as it comes due is the defining near-term task for management.

What it is doing now

The May Pen to Williamsfield extension — Phase 1C — opened for operations on December 27, 2025, adding roughly 28 km and two new toll plazas to the network and meaningfully expanding TJH’s revenue base for 2026 onwards. At an investor briefing in November 2025, CFO Susan Brown confirmed this new corridor as the headline growth driver going into 2026.

As recently as March 2026 the board declared an interim dividend of J$0.1650 per share, the largest in the company’s history and a sign that management feels confident enough in cash generation to reward shareholders even as it absorbs the cost of the new segment.

What to watch

• Bond refinancing: The US$225m senior secured notes mature in 2026; the rate and structure of any replacement will reset TJH’s interest burden and free cash flow for years to come.
• Phase 1C ramp-up: Toll rates on the new May Pen–Williamsfield segment were initially delayed; how quickly traffic and tariffs build on this leg will set the pace for revenue growth.
• Government divestment outcome: NROCC’s sale of its remaining 20% stake will reshape the shareholder register and potentially the board — watch for who emerges as anchor investor.
• Concession clock: The concession expires in 2036 and TJH must return the road to NROCC in a specified condition; major maintenance spending will accelerate as that date approaches.

This is news, not investment advice.