Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

MTR rebounds from Covid-19 losses to post HK$2.67 billion profit

MTR rebounds from Covid-19 losses to post HK$2.67 billion profit

The rail giant lost money in 2020 for the first time since its listing more than two decades ago, posting a record deficit totalling HK$4.8 billion.

Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation marked a turnaround from its record loss in 2020, posting a profit of HK$2.67 billion in the first half of this year as the city’s economy gathered steam with the local coronavirus situation easing.

That rebound was in stark contrast to the net losses of HK$334 million (US$42.8 million) in the same period last year.

The rail giant in 2020 lost money for the first time since its listing two decades ago, posting a record deficit totalling HK$4.8 billion, as it reeled from the 2019 social unrest followed by the ongoing ravages of Covid-19.

On Thursday, Jacob Kam Chak-pui, the corporation’s CEO, said the coronavirus continued to “pose great challenges” to business.

An MTR train on the Kwun Tong line in Kowloon Bay.


“Cross-boundary traffic remains suspended and tourists have yet to come back to Hong Kong, while revenues from our railway station, commercial and shopping mall businesses have not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels,” he said.

“However, with our diversified business portfolio we have maintained a solid financial position, and we are seeking to generate new business opportunities and ensure job security for our staff.”

Passenger numbers on MTR rail services improved in the first half of 2021, up 15.5 per cent year on year to 735.9 million, with the firm’s transport operations posting a loss of HK$2.28 billion compared with HK$2.57 billion over the same period last year.

Riding on the gradual economic recovery from the pandemic, recurrent business profit was HK$912 million in the first six months of the year, 110 per cent up on the HK$433 million from the same period in 2020.

Earnings from commercial operations within stations dropped 17.3 per cent year on year to HK$1.5 billion, due to the loss of rental revenue from the suspension of cross-boundary rail services and ongoing rental concessions granted to tenants affected by the health crisis.

In a bid to contain the virus, all cross-border railway services have been suspended since January 30 last year, and all but three of Hong Kong’s border checkpoints have been closed indefinitely.

As a result, the MTR Corp’s cross-border services – including high-speed rail, intercity lines and its busy Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau routes – ground to a complete halt.

Kam said the full opening in June of the Tuen Ma line – part of the long-overdue HK$90.7 billion Sha Tin to Central link – had been well received by passengers, while the cross-harbour Hung Hom-Admiralty section, set to open in the first quarter of next year, was 94 per cent complete.

He admitted the Hung Hom-Admiralty project might be delayed due to last September’s signalling glitches on the connecting East Rail line, promising to update the public on any changes to the schedule.

“However, we have not given up. We continue to work very hard to try to catch up as much time as we can,” he said.

As for the demolition of two blocks of The Pavilia Farm III in Tai Wai following the use of substandard concrete, Kam said the company had demanded the developer New World Development conduct a full investigation and implement proper remedial measures.

“We will do our best to ensure during the follow-up actions, the construction work of the project will not affect railway facilities and the safe operation of the railway,” he said.

David Tang Chi-fai, the MTR Corp’s property and international business director, said New World had submitted an investigation report to the Buildings Department and the rail firm, adding liability considerations would be looked at.

Quentin Cheng Hin-kei, spokesman for the Public Transport Research Team, a commuter concern group, said while the MTR’s improving business outlook might well continue as the economy recovered, a return to pre-pandemic levels would prove challenging.

He was also downbeat about the corporation’s overseas investments, saying its affiliation with the government could present difficulties when bidding for rail projects abroad. Part-privatised in 2000, the government now owns about 75 per cent of the corporation.

“I am quite pessimistic about the MTR’s overseas development,” Cheng said. “Given its affiliation with the government and the global tensions against Hong Kong, overseas countries might boycott the MTR when tendering their rail projects.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×