SMRT’s Q4 income crashes 54.6% to $9.5m

Bus, rail divisions’ operating losses skyrocketed.

SMRT’s core profit after tax and minority interests (PATMI) plummeted 54.6% to $9.5m in 4QFY16, as the company’s segments posted increased operating losses.

According to a report by OCBC, as a result of raised staff and maintenance-related costs, core PATMI (excluding $17.1m one-off tax refund) only inched up 1.3% to $92.2m for FY16.

For Q4, revenue edged up 2.8% YoY to $320m as growth was recorded across all business segments, except for tax business and engineering services. For FY16, revenue grew 4.9% to $1.3b on raised ridership and average fare.

Meanwhile, fare business’ Q4 revenue growth was mainly driven by higher ridership, but was partially offset by 1.9% fare rollback and cannibalisation impact from opening of Downtown Line phase 2 (DTL 2).

OCBC further notes there was an exceptional net property tax refund of $17.1m relating to prior years’ over assessment for Q4 rail operations.

Stripping out this one-off item, the SMRT’s Q4 operating loss for its rail business skyrocketed a whopping 106.6% YoY to $8.5m on back of increased staff costs and maintenance-related expenses. SMRT’s bus business also recorded operating loss of $1.6m on higher staff expenses.