19 February 2009
Highlights
- Results slightly ahead of expectations
- Revenue increased by 19.1% to £1,223.9m (2007: £1,027.9m)
- Operating profit* rose by 0.2% to £64.6m (2007: £64.5m)
- Profit before tax* increased by 1.0% to £58.9m (2007: £58.3m)
- Adjusted earnings per share* increased by 0.4% to 78.7p (2007: 78.4p)
- Proposed interim dividend of 25.5p per share (2007: 25.5p)
- Significant non cash exceptional items (as previously reported)
- After amortisation and exceptional items, profit before tax £3.1m (2007: £45.2m)
- Continued growth in demand for bus and rail
- Conditions in aviation services division remain difficult
- Strong cashflows and balance sheet, and financing secure to 2012
*before amortisation and exceptional items
Commenting on Go-Ahead’s outlook, Chairman, Sir Patrick Brown said:
“The forecasts for the UK economy in the second half of our financial year have become increasingly pessimistic and we have been taking management action accordingly to curb costs and improve efficiency.
“We expect the results of our bus division to remain robust in the second half of the year. Around two thirds of our revenue is either from Transport for London (TfL) or deregulated concessionary fares which are less sensitive to economic conditions.
“In rail, we expect the recent underlying revenue trends to continue, leading to further growth in passenger revenue in the second half, albeit at a lower rate of increase than achieved in the first half. This should not have a material impact on our second half results, thanks to our cost saving initiatives and the profit share and revenue share mechanisms in the franchises. We have recently submitted our bid to retain the Southern franchise from September 2009, and expect the result in June.
“Our cash flow remains strong and our balance sheet is robust, with financing secured through to 2012. We will continue to emphasise service quality, cost savings and financial discipline.
“We remain confident in the underlying strengths of our business and in our expectations for the full year to June 2009.”
Interim Results in Full (PDF)
For further information, please contact:
| The Go-Ahead Group |
|
| Keith Ludeman, Group Chief Executive |
020 7821 3920 |
| Nick Swift, Group Finance Director |
020 7821 3922 |
| |
|
| Weber Shandwick Financial |
|
Terry Garrett / Stephanie Badjonat / Clare Perks |
020 7067 0700 |
An analysts’ presentation will be held at 8.30am today at Weber Shandwick Financial, Fox Court, 14 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8WS
Copies of the presentation will be available on the Company’s website: www.go-ahead.com
Notes to Editors
Go-Ahead is one of the UK's leading providers of passenger transport services operating in the bus, rail and aviation services sectors. Employing over 27,500 people across the country, around 920 million passenger journeys are undertaken on our services each year. In addition to the travelling public, customers include the Department for Transport (DfT), Transport for London (TfL), local authorities, British Airports Authority (BAA) and major airlines.
Bus
Go-Ahead is one of the UK's largest bus operators. With a fleet of over 3,400 buses, we carry, on average, around 1.6 million passengers every day. Our operations are focused on high density commuter markets. We have a strong presence in London, with around 20% market share, where we provide regulated services for TfL. We operate deregulated services in the north east; Oxford; the south east and southern England.
Rail
The rail operation, Govia, is 65% owned by Go-Ahead and 35% by Keolis. It is the busiest rail operation in the UK, responsible for nearly 30% of all UK passenger rail journeys through its three rail companies: Southern (which includes the Gatwick Express), Southeastern and London Midland. The Southeastern franchise will include the operation of new high speed trains on the domestic Channel Tunnel Rail Link into St Pancras International from 2009, significantly reducing current journey times.
For further information about our rail franchises please visit our factsheets:
http://www.go-ahead.com/goahead/aboutus/our_markets/uk_rail_market/
Aviation Services
The Group's aviation services division is one of the UK's largest independent providers of cargo services (primarily Plane Handling), ground handling (primarily Aviance UK) and car parking (Meteor). The division operates from 16 airports and services major airline operators such as British Airways (BA), Virgin and bmi. Market leading services within Meteor include 'Meet & Greet' and 'Pink Elephant' services.
Please visit the Group’s website for further information:
www.go-ahead.com