TBILISI, Georgia, August 23. Passenger transportation by rail in the second quarter of 2023 in Georgia significantly increased by 47.4 percent, reaching almost 570,000 people, National Statistics Service of Georgia said, Trend reports.
According to the report, the volume of passenger traffic for the same period increased by 50.9 percent and amounted to 176.9 million passenger kilometers.
In addition, a total of 560,200 passengers were transported on local trains, which is 98.5 percent of the total volume of passengers transported by rail from April through June, which is 48.7 percent higher compared to the same period in 2022.
Moreover, 8,700 passengers were transported by international trains, which is six percent less than in the second quarter of 2022.
There was no passenger traffic in the direction of Azerbaijan in the second quarter of 2023.
Despite the depreciation of assets and the devaluation of lari after 2016, the Georgian Railway returned to profitable activity. In 2022, the company ended the year with a record profit of 396.7 million lari ($151.4 million) and a net financial income of 178.9 million lari ($68.3 million).
The increase in net financial income was due to a reduction in interest expenses after the refinancing of Eurobonds in 2021, as well as the strengthening of the Georgian lari against the US dollar.
The results also show a positive trend in the volume of transportation and revenue from cargo transportation, as well as logistics services. Revenue from passenger transportation also increased significantly, amounting to 27.4 million lari ($10.5 million), almost twice as much as in 2021.
In general, the available funds on the company's balance sheet continue to increase, reaching 274.6 million lari ($104.8 million) by the end of 2022, which is 62.4 million lari ($23.8 million) more than at the end of 2021.