(Yicai Global) Aug. 28 -- The operator of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line has reported a 90 percent drop in net profit for the first half year on year due to the travel restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic and the situation is unlikely to improve before the end of next month, it said yesterday.

The Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway posted net profit of CNY530 million (USD77.1 million) from January to June, the firm said in its first semi-annual earnings report since going public in January. Revenue was down 40 percent to CNY10 billion (USD1.5 billion).

Once one of the country's most profitable and popular high-speed rail routes, passenger traffic plunged 61.7 percent in the first half from a year earlier to 9.59 million people and is unlikely to recover soon, the Beijing-based firm said.

Despite the bad news, the company's stock price [SHA:601816] was trading marginally up at CNY6.22 (USD0.90) apiece this afternoon.

Other railway operators are also suffering. Guangshen Railway, which runs the route between the southern metropolises of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, posted losses of CNY614 billion (USD89.4 million) for the first half, compared with profit of CNY762 million in the same period last year. Revenue was down 26.8 percent to CNY7.5 billion, the Shenzhen-based firm said in its latest earnings report yesterday.

Daqin Railway, operator of the nation's main coal transportation artery the Datong-Qinhuangdao railway, saw profit fall 30.65 percent to CNY5.6 billion and revenue sank 16.92 percent to CNY33.5 billion, the Datong, northern Shanxi province-based company said.

Editor: Kim Taylor