SMRT MADE S$20 MILLION PROFIT IN FIRST 3 MONTHS OF 2015

Singapore private public transport operator SMRT made more than S$20.1 million in net earnings for the first quarter of 2015 ending June 30.

The Temasek Holdings-owned company are currently under public scrutiny for numerous breakdowns happening every month and especially for the biggest train breakdown that happened earlier this month (July). The Singapore Government, through the Public Transport Council, approved a 2.8% fare raise in April 2015, and the CEO of SMRT, former chief of defence force, Desmond Kuek, take home a record-breaking S$2.25 million in the financial year of 2014 – an amount doubled from what he made when he first joined SMRT.

Despite making record profits, SMRT chief Desmond Kuek however complained that the train business remains problematic:

“While we have made progress on many fronts in the group, the rail business remains a challenge.”