Thameslink summer delays not enough to derail Go-Ahead Group finances as revenues outpace passenger growth
Public transport operator Go-Ahead Group shares closed 7 per cent up today as it reported revenue growth in the last quarter.
In its first quarter trading update, the company said that despite a summer of delays and cancellations of London services revenue continued to grow faster than passenger numbers.
For the quarter from July 1 to November 28, Go-Ahead reported a 3 per cent revenue growth year-on-year from its regional bus services, compared to a 1.5 per cent growth in passenger journeys.
Meanwhile, its Southeastern rail operation reported revenue growth of 7 per cent against 5 per cent in passengers.
It also announced that by the end of 2018, 400 extra peak time journeys would be running into London, accommodating 50,000 more passengers than levels running earlier this year.
The company also said it had won rail contracts in Norway which would begin in December 2019 and last for up to 10 years, meaning it would be running eight contracts outside the UK.
The company came under fire over the summer for a spate of delays and cancellations on trains going into London, caused by timetabling errors.
In the update, the company said operational performance had “improved substantially whilst also operating an additional 200 services per day”.
“Performance on Southern is the best since the start of the franchise and cancellations on Thameslink and Great Northern services have been significantly reduced.”
It added that regional bus operations had been helped by good summer weather, while its Dublin operation had kicked off successfully during the period.
Go-Ahead Group chief executive, David Brown, said: "In bus, our London operations have continued to earn strong Quality Incentive Contract income through the delivery of good service performance. In our regional bus business, overall passenger volumes have grown although the trends remain mixed across the country.
"In rail, I am pleased that the past few months have seen a marked improvement in the operational performance of GTR. Southeastern has continued to perform very well and it has consistently been the best performing large train franchise in the UK in recent months.
"Positive momentum in our international strategy has been sustained with the award of a new rail contract in Norway, the start of bus operations in Dublin and a continuing good performance in Singapore.
"Our 'Pick Me Up' operation in Oxford continues to grow and now has over 15,000 registered users, providing a new convenient service for our customers."