The MTR Corporation said on Thursday it posted a profit of HK$9.8 billion for 2022, or a 2.9 percent year-on-year increase, despite a sharp fall in recurrent earnings.

While the rail giant recorded HK$157 million in profits from transport operations, and station commercial and property rental business, earnings were down 91 percent compared to the previous year.

The company carried 1.3 billion passengers across its domestic rail and bus networks last year, a six percent decline compared to 2021, and transport operations reported a loss of HK$4.7 billion.

MTR officials attributed the fifth Covid wave in early 2022 to a drop in ridership and fare revenues, adding that the bigger loss was also due to a rise in staff and energy costs, as well as higher depreciation resulting from the opening of the East Rail Line cross-harbour extension.

Its CEO, Jacob Kam, said the total loss of transport operations has exceeded HK$14 billion in the three years of the pandemic, but added he is hopeful about passenger numbers following the border reopening earlier this year.

"The domestic traffic has returned to over 90 percent of the pre-pandemic level. For the cross-boundary [services], including Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau, the High Speed Rail and the Airport Express line, have returned to around 50 percent of the pre-pandemic level," he said.

"The overall trend is encouraging, it is still rising. But of course, we hope this trend will continue."

Kam also said the company will over the next three years pour more than HK$10 billion annually into railway asset replacements and upgrades, in addition to more than HK$5 billion in regular maintenance.

"We pay a lot of attention in the maintenance of our assets, keeping the railway at its top performance," he said. "We will continue to improve our performance."

On the fare adjustment mechanism, Kam said it has always been "open, transparent, predictable", adding that a review is underway and is expected to be concluded in the first half of this year.

The corporation, meanwhile, is proposing a final dividend of 89 cents per share, bringing the full-year amount to HK$1.31.