Swiss Federal Railways expects to finish 2024 in the black
SBB expects a profit, as in 2023
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Swiss Federal Railways expects to finish 2024 in the black
Swiss Federal Railways expects to land a similar profit for the current financial year as it did in 2023, the chair of the company’s board of directors has told media.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Français
fr
Les CFF s’attendent à un bénéfice, comme en 2023
Original
Thanks to high passenger numbers, the Federal Railways netted a profit of CHF267 million ($299 million) in 2023. “At the moment, it looks like we’ll achieve roughly the same again,” Monika Ribar told the Schweiz am Wochenende newspaper on Saturday.
Strong passenger demand – especially in the second half of 2024 – should lead to a result that exceeds company expectations, she said.
In the long term, however, such results will not be enough. The Railways needs to make an annual profit of around CHF500 million to be able to meet its investment requirements and ensure that its debt is sustainable, Ribar told the newspaper. An overhanging burden of some CHF3 billion in debt from the pandemic years “unfortunately does not disappear so easily”, she added.
Net debt amounted to CHF11.6 billion in the first half of 2024. The Railways thus continued to exceed the debt coverage ratio set by the government for 2030. In the first half of this year, the company made a profit of CHF50.8 million, half the previous year’s figure.
In 2023, the national railway company made a profit for the first time in three years, i.e. since before the pandemic.
“Our financial situation is tight,” Ribar said in the Schweiz am Wochenende interview. She added that the company is glad to have the backing of state authorities in reducing its debt, but that it also has to make a substantial contribution of its own. The goal is to return to higher profits, she said.
Translated from French by DeepL/dos
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
More
More
Swiss Federal Railways’ Monika Ribar: ‘I could never have had this career if I’d had children’
This content was published on
While she is opposed to quotas for women on management boards, she believes attitudes still need to change to advance equality in the world of work.
Swiss skiers nab top spots in iconic Lauberhorn race
This content was published on
Swiss skier Marco Odermatt has won the Lauberhorn downhill ski race in Wengen, Switzerland, for the third time, just ahead of compatriot Franjo von Allmen.
Switzerland’s neighbours are ‘not role models’ in fiscal policy, says finance minister
This content was published on
Swiss finance minister Karin Keller-Sutter defended the country's compliance with the debt brake at a meeting of her party, the Radical-Liberals, on Saturday.
Pope Francis praises Swiss Guards’ patience with pilgrims
This content was published on
During a private audience on Saturday, Pope Francis praised the Swiss Guards for their "great patience" with pilgrims who visit the Vatican.
Swiss designer Kevin Germanier to design outfits for Eurovision presenters
This content was published on
Designer Kevin Germanier will dress the team of presenters at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, which takes place in May in Basel.
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter makes official visit to Austria
This content was published on
Karin Keller-Sutter, who took over the rotating Swiss presidency this year, has made her first official visit abroad as president to Austria.
This content was published on
The boss of Swiss Post, Roberto Cirillo, is stepping down at the end of March after six years in the job, the company announced on Friday.
This content was published on
The name and logo of the former Credit Suisse headquarters at Paradeplatz 8 in Zurich's financial centre were officially replaced by those of UBS on Friday.
Outgoing Swiss federal police chief warns of insufficient resources
This content was published on
The outgoing director of the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol), Nicoletta della Valle, has warned that officers, prosecutors and investigators in Switzerland have insufficient resources to do their work.
Swiss university inaugurates Europe’s most powerful centrifuge
This content was published on
The federal technology institute ETH Zurich has inaugurated Europe's most powerful geotechnical centrifuge. Researchers use the instrument to simulate the effects of natural hazards.
Swiss film industry reports successful year in 2024
This content was published on
Swiss films did well in cinemas in 2024, recording over 907,000 admissions, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) reports. They accounted for almost 9% of all films shown last year in Switzerland.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.