SWEDEN's national passenger operator SJ made a loss of SKr 140m ($US 22.2m) in the first half of this year compared with a profit of SKr 220m for the first half of 2010. However, SJ's second quarter results look a little better as it made a pre-tax profit of SKr 94m, although this is a lot worse than its 2010 second-quarter profit of SKr 340m. First-half consolidated net sales dropped from SKr 4.3bn in 2010 to SKr 3.9bn this year.
SWEDEN's national passenger operator SJ made a loss of SKr 140m ($US 22.2m) in the first half of this year compared with a profit of SKr 220m for the first half of 2010. However, SJ's second quarter results look a little better as it made a pre-tax profit of SKr 94m, although this is a lot worse than its 2010 second-quarter profit of SKr 340m. First-half consolidated net sales dropped from SKr 4.3bn in 2010 to SKr 3.9bn this year.
"Winter problems at the beginning of the year caused widespread disruption to train services that affected both our customers and our business," says SJ president Mr Jan Forsberg. "The second quarter was marred by major infrastructure problems with damaged contact wires, broken rails and flooding, combined with the fact that SJ had insufficient vehicles to deliver our planned service.
"Overall, confidence in the railways, train transport and SJ has been damaged," continues Forsberg. "This has led to lower revenues, and increased expenses for train maintenance, replacement services, and compensation for travel delays. We have seen a reduction in travel during the second quarter of this year. A long-term effort is underway to recover the trust of our customers."
