Yesterday, SJ released its interim report for the fourth quarter of 2019. The company made a profit before tax of SEK 184 million. This compares with a profit of SEK 193 million in the same period the year before.
SJ's CEO Crister Fritzon is satisfied.
– The fourth quarter of 2019 was very strong for SJ. On the one hand, we saw a very strong increase in travel. We had an 11 percent increase in travel, we had a stable cost level which meant that we had a very good result, says Crister Fritzon.
More travelers made 2019 a good year for SJ. Profit for the full year increased to SEK 776 million, from SEK 457 million the year before. In the fourth quarter, profit decreased slightly compared to 2018. This is due to winning the contracts to operate the Öresund trains and certain traffic in Norway, says Crister Fritzon.
– And it's in full swing to establish them now, so we have costs coming in. So we had certain costs that we took in the fourth quarter. And then we got a slightly lower result than in 2018.
At SJ, we notice that an increased focus on climate and sustainable travel is driving up results.
– The climate focus has given us an extra boost, where we have gained additional new travelers.
You increased your profits, how much depends on you and how much on things happening in the outside world?
– If you look at the increase in travel, it comes from the fact that we have much more punctual traffic. We have developed our services, our products, we have looked at how to digitize all payment flows, information when traveling. That you have a lot of new functions that help you on your trip. So we have developed our products and we would never be able to receive so many travelers if we had not developed our business as we have done in recent years. So it has given us an opportunity to receive all travelers, says Crister Fritzon.
The company has purchased new trains to meet the increased demand. But Crister Fritzon warns that after that, the ceiling will be reached.
– The investments we are making now, we see that there is room on the tracks. But over time we must get new capacity. We have already passed the capacity ceiling on the major routes in Sweden, around Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. We cannot get any new trains in there. Then we have to remove some other train. I think many people think that we have the capacity ceiling ahead of us, but we have already passed it. So we must get new capacity to be able to handle the increase in travel that we are seeing now, he says.
At the end of March, Crister Fritzon will step down as CEO of SJ. He will leave this to his successor.
– SJ today is a completely different company than the company I joined eight years ago. We are a modern company. I will leave a stable company with good results, he says.
Source: sverigesradio.se
