In a trading update for the first quarter of the year, National Express Group Chief Executive Ignacio has told shareholders that the firm has made a good start to the year. “It’s pleasing that revenues have bounced back to 2019 levels, improving through the first quarter,” he said. “The strong recovery in our discretionary coach businesses in both the UK and Spain shows the pent-up demand for travel which is further evidenced by our strong trading over Easter.
“The cost of living crisis is starting to bite for many people, and our bus services offer an attractive low cost alternative form of travel to help offset higher prices elsewhere.
“Modal shift out of cars is the single most important thing we can do to tackle climate change – and National Express has a major role to play here, providing safe, reliable and affordable services that not only help our planet but also our passengers in their daily lives. Governments around the world are aware of this and are adjusting policy towards greater use of public transport to meet their decarbonisation and clean air targets.
“We continue to believe that our proposed combination with Stagecoach, with at least £45 million of run-rate synergies, represents a superior value creation opportunity to the DWS offer. However, we will remain disciplined in the assessment of our options going forward. Looking ahead, having made an encouraging start to 2022, we anticipate further strong recovery in demand over the balance of the year, and are confident of delivering further improvements in performance during the year.”
