The Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) of Hong Kong saw 18.797 billion HK dollars in revenue last year, up 6.6 percent over the previous year, according to the financial results announced by MTRC on Tuesday.

Fare revenue grew 0.3 percent to 11.498 billion HK dollars while property development profit fell 23.9 percent to 3.554 billion HK dollars.

MTRC Chief Executive Officer Chow Chung-kong said the company's satisfactory fiscal performance last year came despite challenging economic conditions and the threat posed by the A/H1N1 influenza.

On the operational front, total patronage for all rail and bus passenger services grew 1.4 percent to 1.507 billion. The company' s overall share of the franchised public transport market rose to 42.6 percent from 42 percent, with its share of cross-harbor traffic up from 63.4 percent to 64 percent.

The company's domestic service recorded total patronage of 1. 219 billion, up 1.1 percent on a year earlier. Patronage for cross- boundary services at Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau rose 0.7 percent to 94 million.

Passengers using the Airport Express fell 6.9 percent to 9.9 million due to a marked reduction in air travel as a result of the A/H1N1 influenza and the economic downturn. Fare revenue was 617 million HK dollars, down 8.3 percent over the year of 2008, and the average fare per passenger dropped 1.6 percent to 62.48 HK dollars.

Looking ahead, Chow said although economic conditions are improving, recovery may be slow and there remains the risk of further volatility in the global economy. (1 U.S. dollar = 7.752 HK dollars)