FirstGroup, which also operates the TransPennine Express service between Hull and the west coast, last year added the North American owner of the Greyhound bus company to its portfolio of UK rail and bus services, said annual operating profits reached £360.1 million, a jump of 39% on a year earlier.

It reported strong growth across the group in the year to March 31, including in UK rail after operating profits increased 10.3% to £120 million.

The Aberdeen-based firm said appetite for rail travel remained strong and that it was working hard to improve First Great Western, which it admitted had fallen "short of our own standards and the expectations of our passengers".

In January, passengers were hit with above-inflation fare rises across the network, although FGW's poor performance prompted fare strikes by some consumers.

A month later it received a formal rebuke for its handling of the rail franchise and was forced into a £29 million programme of improvements at FGW, which runs services to Reading, Bristol, South Wales and the West Country.

First's other rail franchises are First ScotRail and First Capital Connect, where punctuality rates are higher than 90%.

The group's UK bus business boasts a 9,000-strong fleet, carrying three million passengers a day in more than 40 major towns and cities.

Passenger revenues grew 5% last year, while operating profits rose 18.4% to £122 million.

Today's figures were boosted by six month trading from US group Laidlaw - the yellow school bus giant and owner of Greyhound - which it bought in a £1.9 billion deal last year.

FirstGroup chief executive Moir Lockhead said: "This has been a year of significant achievement for the group with further strong performance across all our businesses."

He also announced plans for the placing of new shares - representing 9.99% of the company's share capital - in order to refinance an element of the debt incurred in respect of the Laidlaw acquisition.