Hong Kong’s MTR Corp posts profits of HK$7.78 billion for last year, down 20.8%, as property development earnings fall 80.1%

“The corporation will accelerate the adoption of innovation and technology in our businesses, including customer service, railway asset management and railway construction management.”

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The rail giant said revenue climbed 19.17 per cent to HK$57 billion last year from HK$47.8 billion a year earlier after cross-border travel between Hong Kong and mainland China fully resumed, which included the return of the city’s high-speed rail link after three years of Covid-19 entry curbs.

The company’s net profit included HK$2.08 billion from property development, which was 80.1 per cent lower than in 2022, while the gain from the fair value measurement of investment properties rebounded to HK$1.4 billion from a loss of HK$810 million in 2022.

The gains from property development were largely generated from projects such as Lohas Park in Tseung Kwan O.

In terms of passengers, the figure rose 24.9 per cent from 2022 to 1.9 billion last year amid a gradual return to normal.

Transport operations posted a loss of HK$1.11 billion, compared with a deficit of HK$4.7 billion in 2022.

In 2020, the MTR Corp lost money for the first time since its listing two decades ago, posting a deficit of HK$4.8 billion as it reeled from the effects of the 2019 social unrest and the pandemic.

The company’s directors proposed a final dividend of 89 HK cents per share, the same as in 2022, taking the full-year amount to HK$1.31 per share.