18th Feb 2016 07:36
LONDON (Alliance News) - Go-Ahead Group PLC on Thursday said its first-half results met its expectations and affirmed its outlook for the full year as it saw solid performances in its bus and rail divisions.
The FTSE 250 public transport operator said pretax profit for the half-year to December 26 was GBP52.1 million, up from GBP44.7 million a year earlier, helped by a big rise in profit from its rail division.
Revenue rose to GBP1.67 billion from GBP1.56 billion, lifted by passenger volume growth in its regional bus division, which was helped by contract wins, and by a good performance for London buses, albeit with the latter hurt by reduced quality incentive income due to the proliferation of roadworks across the capital.
The rail business performed well, with the Southeastern and London Midland franchises both ticking on as the group focuses on the GTR franchise, which covers the Southern and Gatwick Express services, along with the cross-London Thameslink line. Go-Ahead said it is working with Network Rail to reduce disruption from the redevelopment of London Bridge Station and is focused on integrating the business.
Go-Ahead will pay an interim dividend of 28.33 pence per share, up from 26.60p a year earlier.
Go-Ahead said current trading is satisfactory and said it remains on course to hit its expectations for the bus and rail divisions in the full year.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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