CP - Comboios de Portugal makes a profit for the first time in its history and the most passengers in 20 years

CP - Comboios de Portugal said on Thursday that it reached a historic milestone by making a net profit of €8 million in 2022, its first profit ever.

The company recorded more than 148 million passengers in 2022, the highest number of passengers in the last 20 years.

The unprecedented net result of €8 million is €22 million more than in 2021 and is recorded in a context of a significant increase in energy costs for the traction. These expenses have increased by more than €28.5 million in just one year.

The improvement in punctuality and the decrease in cancellations result from the rolling stock recovery strategy. This approach has brought significant benefits: the reuse of previously abandoned rolling stock in excellent condition, optimising resources and increasing CP's efficiency. The importance of the recovery of rolling stock cannot be underestimated, as it also allowed CP to return some of the 592 series railcars to Spain. This strategic action resulted in several million euros in savings, demonstrating the company's commitment to optimising resources and improving financial efficiency.

The merger of EMEF into CP also contributed to the 2022 results, which created synergies and provided significant benefits, improving the integration and optimisation of the services provided. Incorporating resources and technical knowledge, decision-making agility, and eliminating redundancies took advantage of economies of scale, resulting in significant efficiency improvements.

The merger of EMEF into CP also allowed for the expansion of commercial activities. In addition to enabling CP to internalise the revision of bogies, which was being carried out by a Spanish company, bringing greater efficiency and quality control to operations, CP started providing bogie maintenance services to Spanish railway companies as well, expanding its reach and strengthening its market position.

The opening of the Guifões workshops also played a fundamental role by adding to the recovery of rolling stock and the carrying out of maintenance which, previously, would have been handed over to external companies.

Internalising several services, such as Ground-Train Radio and a large part of the marketing services, also allowed CP to save tens of millions of euros.

With regard to the performance of commercial services in 2022, compared to 2019, the year before the pandemic, there was an increase of 2.2% in the number of passengers. Lisbon urban trains stood out with a remarkable growth of 6.7%, while regional services recorded a significant increase of 5.1%. Furthermore, the impact of PART was crucial for an increase of approximately 12% in monthly tickets.

In 2022, CP achieved a regularity index of 97.5%. In more than 421,000 services, there were 11,000 cancellations, 9,000 of which resulted from strikes. Excluding the impact of strikes, regularity would be 99.5%. Punctuality reached 80.7%. It should be noted that approximately 71% of delays were caused by factors external to CP, such as modernisation works in the railway infrastructure.

There has been a notable transformation in recent years regarding graffitied rolling stock. In 2019, around 37% of rolling stock had graffiti, while by the end of 2022, this figure had been drastically reduced to just 0.5%. Such an improvement highlights CP's continued effort and commitment to keeping its trains clean and presentable to improve passenger comfort.

CP - Comboios de Portugal chairman Pedro Moreira, commenting on the company's profit, said:

"The positive results are the result of prudent management policies focused on sustainability and the crucial role of the company's workers, who were fundamental in achieving this historic result. Therefore, I would like to thank our workers for their commitment, dedication and professionalism.

This historic milestone also highlights the attention to managing financial resources derived from public funds. Such commitment illustrates the company's sense of responsibility to improve efficiency, minimise costs and ensure the sustainability of its operations.

This historic achievement is only the first step in a journey that will lead us to further improve the quality of rail transport in Portugal and reinforce our position as a reference in the sector.

We are committed to contributing to a greener future, investing in sustainable mobility solutions and reducing our carbon footprint. This is a commitment we take seriously, and the results we have achieved are proof of that.

We believe that innovation and modernisation in the railway sector are fundamental to our success, and we will continue to invest in developing and implementing more efficient technological solutions.

The synergy between our team, responsible management of public resources and a forward-looking vision for the railway sector are the pillars that underpin CP's success and guarantee a promising future for the company and all those involved."