5th Jul 2005 07:00
Go-Ahead Group PLC05 July 2005 5 July 2005 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 2 July 2005. The group has continued to trade in line with management's overall expectationsfor the year. The group's bus business in London has continued to grow revenues and to benefitfrom bonus payments arising from the delivery of a high quality operatingperformance. Outside London, there has been some recent evidence of a reductionin the pace of volume growth but good increases in revenue in the year haveagain been achieved. Whilst the group continues to manage costs rigorously,general wage inflation and high fuel costs have had an impact on margins for thebus division this financial year. A similar trend is expected next year giventhe absence of material fuel hedging. As previously announced, the groupcontinues to seek acquisition opportunities in the bus division as demonstratedthrough the acquisition of Southern Vectis plc, which became unconditional on 20June 2005. Within the rail division, passenger volume growth at Southern has been strongand operating performance has improved significantly, as the benefits of the newrolling stock are realised. The expected growth in profits will be subject tothe profit sharing mechanism agreed with the SRA. Thameslink has held passengervolumes despite the CTRL blockade and related service disruption at Kings Cross/St. Pancras. The group's Thameslink mandate ends on 31 March 2006. Workcontinues on the Integrated Kent franchise, final bids for which are expected tobe submitted at the end of July 2005. Trading at the group's aviation services business has shown good improvementyear on year, driven by the successful Plane Handling acquisition announced inAugust 2004 and other opportunities at Heathrow, together with cost reductionsat specific stations and continued management action at Gatwick. Furtherprogress is anticipated going forward. Meteor continues to perform in line withmanagement's expectations. The results for the 12 months ending 2 July 2005 are expected to be announced inearly September 2005. Pensions Go-Ahead also announces that, following a proposal to the Trustee of theGo-Ahead Group Pension Plan, the group has made a one-off cash contribution of£25 million towards the defined benefit scheme deficit. The group will benefitfrom an ongoing net pensions cost reduction under IAS 19 starting in the nextfinancial year. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) As previously set out at the time of the interim results, the adoption of IFRSis expected to impact the group in a number of areas including Pensions (IAS19), Share Based Payments (IFRS 2) and Intangible Assets (IFRS 3). There arealso expected to be other items which will not have a material impact, includingAccounting for leases (IAS 17), Fixed Assets (IAS 16), Financial Instruments(IAS 39), Taxation (IAS 12) and Revenue Recognition (IAS 18). The financialconsequences will be explained when the results for the year ended 2 July 2005are published. For further information, please contact: The Go-Ahead Group plcChris Moyes, Chief Executive 0191 232 3123Ian Butcher, Group Finance Director Weber Shandwick Square Mile (WSSM) 020 7067 0700Richard Hews/Rachel Taylor/Stephanie Badjonat Note to Editors:Go-Ahead is a key operator of commuter services in London and the South East. Itis the franchise holder for Thameslink and Southern. Bus services include LondonCentral and General, companies in North East England, Oxford, Brighton, Poole,Southampton, Isle of Wight and routes in the Gatwick Airport and Crawleyconurbation. The aviation and car parking businesses have nationwide coverage. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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