Months of protests see MTR profits slump by 26 percent

It’s been a rough year for the MTR Corp, with Hong Kong’s railway operator announcing today that that net profits were down by 25.5 percent for 2019.

At a press conference this afternoon, MTR Corp said that for the financial year ending in 2019, net profit dropped to HK$11.9 billion (about US$1.53 billion), down from HK$16 billion in 2018.

CEO Jacob Kam said last year’s months of pro-democracy protests had impacted the corporation’s business, and confirmed that passenger numbers in 2019 shrank by almost 15 per cent in the second half of last year — when protests were at their fiercest — while warning of tougher times ahead amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

“Patronage fell to 5.61 million passenger journeys per weekday, a drop [of] 4.5 percent when compared with 2018. Other businesses, such as station, commercial, and shopping malls were affected,” Kam said.

Kam also revealed that in the last two months, patronage dropped by 34 percent compared to the same time last year, mainly due to the “aftermath effect” of the protests, as well as the coronavirus outbreak. The financial impact of the drop in passenger numbers is expected to amount to about HK$1.3 billion (about US$167 million).

The MTR found itself especially hard-hit during the 2019 anti-government protests.

Not only did it suffer from the same protest-related shocks as the broader economy, but it also became a target of protesters’ ire after announcing in August that it would begin closing stations without notice in the event of any violence following a Chinese state media campaign accusing them of being an “accomplice to rioters.”

The flames were fanned further in September, when protesters began demanding the MTR release CCTV footage from Prince Edward station from the night of August 31 — seen as one of the worst nights of police violence against protesters — amid unfounded allegations that police killed protesters inside the station.

During the protests, MTR stations were targeted for vandalism and arson, with some protesters smashing up ticketing machines and hurling petrol bombs at stations.