Higher maintenance costs are already having an impact on transport operator SMRT Corp's bottom line.
The company, which faces a public inquiry over the major train breakdowns in December, and whose chief executive Saw Phaik Hwa quit as a result, posted a 13.9 per cent fall in net profit to $37 million for the third quarter.
This was despite a 10 per cent rise in revenue to $268.2 million for the three months to Dec 31. That rise was offset by a 16 per cent increase in costs to $227.7 million, including repairs and maintenance expenses, which rose 14.8 per cent to $20.9 million.
Chief financial officer Catherine Lee said at Tuesday's results briefing that maintenance cost is likely to rise in the quarters ahead but would not say by how much. Ms Lee said it was difficult to give precise figures for the dollar impact of the December train service disruptions, but said that it was 'a couple of million of dollars'.
-- ST
lol. $37million profit is still alot, for a public transport service provider.