24th Jun 2015 06:24
LONDON (Alliance News) - Transport operator Stagecoach Group PLC on Wednesday said its pretax profit ticked higher in its 2015 financial year on the back of better revenue and said it would hike its dividend on the back of the results.
FTSE 250-listed Stagecoach said its pretax profit rose to GBP165.2 million for the year to April 30, up from GBP158 million a year earlier. Revenue for the group increased to GBP3.20 billion from GBP2.93 billion, with a strong performance in its UK rail business and from its Virgin Rail Group joint venture, even as the performance of its bus operations fell slightly below its expectations.
On the back of the results, Stagecoach raised its final dividend to 7.3 pence per share from 6.6 pence last year, taking its total dividend for the year to 10.5 pence from 9.5 pence.
"These are a solid set of results notwithstanding continued tight central and local government spending, and increased competition for public transport from the private car driven by lower fuel prices," said Chief Executive Martin Griffiths.
"The group is in good financial shape and overall we have delivered on our expectations for the year. We have made a satisfactory start to the 2015/16 financial year and look forward to building further on the group's achievement," Griffiths added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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