TORONTO, Ont. — 407 International, the owner and operator of 407 ETR north of Toronto, saw a 10.7% increase in income from operations during the second quarter of 2006 as compared to the same period last year.

As the sole shareholder, 407 International reported income from operations of $77.6 million for the second quarter of 2006, up from $70.1 million in the second quarter of 2005.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization totalled $92.4 million compared with $84.1 million in the corresponding period of 2005. Revenues grew 8.5% to $117.4 million in the second quarter of 2006, compared to $108.2 million in the second quarter of 2005.

In the first six months of 2006, the 108-km stretch of highway has seen an increased amount of traffic reaching more than one billion kilometres of vehicle traffic. After six months in 2005 total vehicle kilometres on the highway were recorded at 9.8 million.

As well, in 2006 the number of transponders being used to accommodate the all-electronic tolling system has increased. At this time last year 674,264 transponders were in circulation with that number growing to 744,901 in 2006.

Net income for the second quarter decreased to $10.8 million from $17.0 million for the same period last year after accounting for a $13.6 million non-cash increase in the inflation component of its inflation-linked bonds.