27th Mar 2018 08:56
LONDON (Alliance News) - Stagecoach Group PLC said on Tuesday its full-year expectations remain unchanged, despite a hit to regional UK bus operations following recent adverse weather conditions.
Shares in Stagecoach were down 2.4% at 110.30 pence early Tuesday, the second-worst performer in the FTSE 250.
In the 44 weeks ended March 3, UK Bus like-for-like revenue slipped 0.1% for regional operations, while London operations declined 4.3%. In the same period, UK Rail - excluding South West Trains - like-for-like revenue rose 3.2%, and Virgin Rail Group rose 2.8%.
For the 10 months ended February 28, North America operations declined 0.6%.
In regional UK Bus operations, Stagecoach reported like-for-like revenue growth has been suppressed in recent weeks by the widespread snowstorms throughout the UK. During the most recent four-week period, like-for-like revenue declined by 2.5% year-on-year, "illustrating the scale of the impact of these extreme weather conditions".
Excluding the most recent four-week period, like-for-like revenue growth for the 40 weeks ended February 3 was 0.1%.
The reported revenue decrease for the London UK Bus division was in line with expectations, the firm said, and reflects the impact of contracts lost in the prior year.
The recent revenue trends in North America are lower than growth seen in the first half of the year, Stagecoach said, reflecting the timing of contract work during the year and "more severe weather" than anticipated over the winter months.
The like-for-like revenue decline of 0.6% for the division includes a 4.6% decline for megabus.com North America, while the other businesses in the unit reported like-for-like revenue growth of 1.2% for the year to date.
Discussions are continuing with the Department for Transport regarding new contractual terms for the Virgin Trains East Coast business, Stagecoach said, and it has submitted a bid for the new South Eastern franchise.
The transport operator said its adjusted earnings per share expectations for the year ending April 28 remain unchanged from the time of its interim results in December.
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