Group sees another year of ‘record bus profits,’ but expects to miss target of £100m bus operating profit in 2015/16
Go-Ahead Group has released its full year results for the year ended June 27, 2015.
Revenue increased substantially from £2,702.4m to £3,215.2m (up 19%) while operating profit was up 11% at £114.7m (2014: £103.2m). However, profit margin was down slightly at 3.6% (2014: 3.8%).
Profit before tax decreased by 12.5% to £78.7m (2014: £91.2m). Basic earnings per share stood at 121.6p (2014: 164.0p) while adjusted earnings per share were 150.8p (2014: 148.6p). Proposed dividend per share was 90.0p, up 5.5p.
Regional bus operations delivered an operating profit of £46.7m, an increase of 11.5% on the previous year, while the London business was up 1.7% at £42.3m. The group said that while the majority of its regional operations had seen passenger growth, passenger growth was down 1.4% due to north-eastern economic weakness and the impact of roadworks in Oxford and Brighton, which deterred bus travel.
David Brown, Group Chief Executive, said: “I am pleased with the Group’s financial performance in the year; with overall operating profit of £114.7m, slightly ahead of our expectations.
“In the last five years alone, we have invested over £180m in our regional bus services. This focus on delivering high quality bus operations has improved services for our passengers and we are proud of our high levels of customer satisfaction, which remain the best in the sector at 90%.
“Despite facing a number of headwinds in the year, including lower passenger volumes and congestion in London as a result of infrastructure improvement works, we were pleased to deliver another year of record bus profits. We now expect to deliver £100m of bus operating profit in 2016/17, a year later than originally anticipated.
“The Group remains in good financial position, with strong cash generation and a robust balance sheet supporting our progressive dividend policy and allowing flexibility to pursue value-adding opportunities. This strong position underpins the Board’s decision to propose an increased final dividend for the year, in line with our dividend policy.”
