Stagecoach sees passenger demand rise

Transport firm Stagecoach raised profit hopes yesterday after the UK's economic recovery boosted passenger demand on its major commuter routes.

The group's UK rail division, which operates South West Trains and East Midland Trains, achieved like-for-like revenues growth of 4 per cent in the 48 weeks to April 4, up from the the 2.1 per cent improvement seen eight weeks earlier. Stagecoach's Virgin Rail joint venture, which operates the West Coast mainline franchise, also reported an improved trend with 9.9 per cent growth.

The company's North American operations also showed improvement, although the UK's bus division, which runs services in more than 100 towns and cities across the UK, saw revenues growth slip to 2.9 per cent from 3.4 per cent in early February.

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In a trading update, the company said: "The group is seeing improvement in revenue trends, consistent with economic recovery in both the UK and North America. Whilst the sustainability and pace of economic recovery remains uncertain, the outlook for the group is positive."

It predicted that earnings per share will be at least 17.5p for the year to April 30, compared with City forecasts for a figure of around 16.2p.

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