What’s new: Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway Co. Ltd., operator of the lucrative high-speed rail line connecting two of China’s leading cities, reported its revenues and profits plunged in the second quarter of this year even as the nation’s Covid-19 outbreak was coming under control.
The company’s revenue fell 44% year-on-year during the three months through June to 4.9 billion yuan ($712 million), accelerating from a 35% decline during the first quarter, according to Caixin calculations based on the company’s latest financial report. Its profit plunged 93% to 207 million yuan during the latest quarter, also accelerating from an 86% profit decline in the previous quarter.
What’s going on: Like many companies in China, Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway has been getting hammered by the global pandemic, which reached its peak in China during the first quarter of the year.
Despite that, travel was still relatively robust in January at the start of China’s annual Lunar New Year rush that sees hundreds of millions of Chinese return home for the most important holiday of the year. The situation was more subdued during the second quarter, when many people avoided travel due to concerns about avoiding infection even as the local outbreak was easing.
Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com) and editor Gavin Cross (gavincross@caixin.com)
