26th Jun 2007 07:01
Go-Ahead Group PLC26 June 2007 For release at 7.00am on 26 June 2007 The Go-Ahead Group plc ("Go-Ahead" or the "Group") Pre-close Trading Update Go-Ahead announces its pre-close trading update for the year ending 30 June2007. Overall trading since the April update has continued to be strong. Trading in the bus division is robust. London has maintained high levels offinancial and operational performance through service quality and tight controlof costs. In recent weeks Routes 36 and 436 have been retained with therequirement for 6 additional vehicles. Route 453 has been won with a totalvehicle requirement of 26. In the deregulated bus business, overall passengervolume growth remains high although, as indicated in April, volume growth,excluding concessionary fares, has moderated in recent months. Deregulated busreturns continue to benefit from operational improvements. The first stage ofthe new commercial strategy has been launched in the West Midlands and theresults to date, both in terms of revenues and costs, have been encouraging. The Group's rail business will deliver a particularly strong result this year.Continued high passenger volume growth (up 9.4% for Southern and 6.7% forSoutheastern for the five months to May compared with the same period lastyear), and the delay in application of franchise committed costs inSoutheastern, are the major factors as well as income benefits from the railperformance regimes. The result will also include a one-off benefit from thefavourable resolution of a number of contractual issues. An exceptional chargewill be made in respect of accrued compensation payable by the Group to NetworkRail in connection with the renegotiated traction electricity charges. Aspreviously indicated, notwithstanding the buoyant passenger market, decliningsubsidy profile and cost pressures will have an impact going forward. The scale of the Group's rail business is set to grow materially with theincorporation of the Gatwick Express franchise into Southern from May 2008 andthe new West Midlands franchise, which will run from 11 November 2007, asannounced last week. Market conditions remain challenging in aviation services, where cargo volumesat Heathrow have recently been under pressure and further initiatives areplanned to reduce this cost base. Aviance's phased take over of BA's groundhandling operations at Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester is on trackand Meteor continues to refocus the business towards off-airport services. The Group's cash flow from operating activities remains strong. The results for the year ending 30 June 2007 are expected to be announced on 7September 2007. -Ends- For further information, please contact: The Go-Ahead Group plcKeith Ludeman, Group Chief Executive 020 8929 8650Ian Butcher, Group Finance Director 0191 232 3123 Weber Shandwick Financial 020 7067 0700Richard Hews/Rachel Taylor/Hannah Marwood Note to Editors: BUS The group's bus division operates over 3,600 buses, providing over 505 million passenger journeys and covering around 236 million vehicle kilometres each year. Operations fall into four main geographical areas: deregulated services in north east; deregulated services in West Midlands; deregulated services in south east / southern England; and regulated services for Transport for London in the capital. The newest additions to this division are Dockland Minibuses and Marchwood buses. RAIL The Group's rail division operates a fleet of 630 trains on which over 280 million passenger journeys are undertaken. Concentrated in the south east of England both our existing franchises, Southern and Southeastern, operate a mix of suburban commuter and mainline routes throughout south London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex. The Southeastern franchise will include the operation of new high speed trains on the domestic Channel Tunnel Rail Link into St Pancras from 2009. Last week it was announced that the Group will also operate the Gatwick Express from June 2008 and the West Midlands franchise from November 2007. AVIATION SERVICES The group's aviation services division undertakes a wide range of support services for national and international airlines. Services provided include cargo handling, passenger check-in, baggage handling, information desks, executive lounges, ground handling and customs clearance. In the last year 45 million passengers were handled as well as over half a million aircraft movements. The division includes Meteor Parking which is the second largest parking company in the UK, managing over 58,000 parking spaces predominantly at BAA airports, with a range of customers, including BAA, local authorities, retail outlets, NHS trusts, hotels and rail stations. Well known brands include 'Pink Elephant', 'Park 1' and 'eparking'. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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