Stagecoach’s rail business posts strong growth

TRANSPORT operator Stagecoach Group said strong growth in its key rail business had helped trading and all its wholly owned units would at least maintain their level of profitability for financial year 2013.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Apr 2012, 09:48 BST

For the 48 weeks ended April 1, the company reported an 8.8 per cent increase in like-for-like sales at its UK rail business, its largest business, which includes London commuter franchise South West Trains.

Regional operations for its UK bus segment posted a 2.7 per cent increase in like-for-like sales, a trend similar to rival FirstGroup, which said last month that lower economic activity, particularly in Scotland and the North of England, hurt the performance of its UK bus business.

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“The update marks some slowdown over the last two months, especially UK bus (business), but we note the volatility over a short trading period,” Shore Capital analyst Greg Johnson said in a note.

Stagecoach’s North America bus operations, however, posted a 14 per cent jump in like-for-like sales in the 11 months ended March 2012.

The US market has been a bright spot for UK transport operators. National Express Group also reported a 5 per cent increase in North America revenue last month while FirstGroup said its US school bus and Greyhound operations continued to perform well.

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