Revenue at the Go-Ahead Group in the first half of it 2012 financial year was up, at £1,199.5million (2011: £1,132.2). However operating profit dropped to £51.7million (2011: £59.0million).
David Brown, Group Chief Executive, commented:
“I am pleased to report a good set of results for the first half of the financial year. Growth has continued across all of our businesses as the public seek high quality, convenient and value for money alternatives to the private car.
“In bus, our strategic focus of operating in more vibrant urban areas, predominantly in the South East, combined with innovative local marketing and the promotion of smart ticketing has continued to deliver passenger growth. We recently announced the acquisition of Carousel, a small bus business in High Wycombe, which fits perfectly with our strategy of acquiring bolt-on businesses which provide a solid basis for increasing passenger numbers.
“As London’s largest bus and rail operator we will play a significant role in providing transport services for the Olympic Games. We look forward to demonstrating the quality of our services and staff. In particular our high speed ‘Javelin’ rail services will transport spectators in an impressive seven minutes from St Pancras International to the Olympic Park.
“We have a very strong position in the UK rail market with our long term partner Keolis, with whom we have recently submitted initial bid documents for Thameslink and Essex Thameside. Together, we have been operating trains in the UK for 15 years, running around 5,500 services a day on our three franchises and carrying more passengers each year than on most European countries’ rail networks.
“The Group remains in a good financial position with strong cash generation and a robust balance sheet.
“Looking ahead, whilst we remain suitably cautious about the wider economic outlook, in rail we expect first half revenue growth trends to continue in the second half and in bus we expect a solid performance despite an impact from the implementation of a new contract.
“Overall, we continue to anticipate the Group will deliver full year results in line with management expectations.”
[The planned posting has been postponed as it seems Flickr has gone offline for the evening…]
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