The overall turnover of the National Railways Office (ONCF) amounted to nearly 903 million dirhams (MDH) in Q1-2023, up 6% compared to the same period in 2022 , confirming the good recovery in the passenger business and the resilience of the freight business, which compensated for the decline in phosphate sales.
This increase is explained by the sustained performance of the passenger activity with 12.4 million passengers transported (+28% vs Q1-2022) and a turnover of 514 MDH (+21% vs Q1(2022), as well as a record recorded for AL Boraq traffic which for the first time exceeded 1 million passengers transported for the first quarter (+49% vs Q1 2022), indicates the ONCF in a press release.
This performance is also due to the positioning of rail transport as a preferred mode for economic operators, with 2.1 million tonnes of goods transported (+3% vs Q1-2022) and a turnover of 147.9 MDH (+ 12% vs Q1-2022).
With regard to the net loss, it recorded a drop of 282 million dirhams, under the weight of the capital costs of the infrastructures in connection with the ambitious investment program of the ONCF, and this despite the commercial dynamics and the efforts to control of OPEX, says the same source.
Debt, meanwhile, amounted to 44.7 MDH, down slightly (-1% vs 2022), while CAPEX was 283 MDH achieved during the 1st quarter of 2023, to maintain performance , service quality and security requirements.
Regarding the operating profit before depreciation (EBITDA), it amounted to 260 MDH, reflecting the excellent performance of ONCF as a rail operator.
ONCF confirms its role and responsibility in society and consolidates the anchoring of environmental and social issues, through participation in the updating of the master plan of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development 2030 aimed at consolidating all the public policies on sustainable development, concludes the press release.