2nd Oct 2015 06:18
LONDON (Alliance News) - FirstGroup PLC on Friday said it is trading in line with its expectations so far in its 2016 financial year, with a continued strong performance in its UK rail business in the second quarter and progress on its plans for its other units.
The FTSE 250-listed transport company said its UK rail business delivered further strong passenger revenue growth and financial performance in the half year to the end of September, in line with the robust trading in the division in the first quarter. FirstGroup said its UK bus business also saw commercial revenue growth and made progress on cost cuts, but this was partially offset by lower concession revenue in the half.
The group's First Student business, which provides school bus services, delivered its contract pricing strategy as planned, with further cost efficiencies achieved in the first half, while its First Transit business won new contracts but is still facing challenges from the slowdown in the Canadian oil sands industry.
Greyhound, FirstGroup''s low-cost coach business in the US, is on track with its yield management programme, and the group is working to make its cost base more flexible to cope with the reduced demand for its services from cheaper fuel, which is causing more people to use their own cars to travel rather than coach services.
"Overall trading for the group during the first half was in line with our expectations. We continue to progress our transformation plans which will drive sustainable improvements in the financial performance and cash generation of the group, despite a more challenging trading environment in some of our markets in the period," said Chief Executive Tim O'Toole.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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