SMRT unveils plans of 10% staff increase

Headcount costs will be offset by savings in electricity expenditures.

According to OCBC, SMRT will seek to increase its headcount by 10% (~700 from existing 7,064 employees) with the train segment taking 270 of the additional staff in order to cope with the rise in ridership and increased focus on repairs and maintenance. 

Here's more from OCBC:

While the additional headcount will result in incremental staff costs, the hiring will take place in phases and be offset by savings in electricity costs due to hedging by the company during earlier declines in fuel prices. SMRT has now fully hedged its electricity requirements for the year.

SMRT reported a decent set of 1Q13 results albeit on lowered expectations. Its revenue rose 8.8% YoY to S$275.2m on the back of higher ridership and full opening of the Circle Line (CCL) while net profit rose 4.7% to S$36.5m.

Operating profit was higher by 3.5% to S$43.9m although it was helped by an S$8m insurance payout following damages to a rail asset. However, excluding the insurance compensation, EBITDA inched lower by only 0.1% to S$71.5m. Overall, SMRT’s 1Q13 results – well within our expectations – constituted 26% and 30.4% of our top and
bottom line projections.