LONDON (Alliance News) - Go-Ahead Group PLC, a provider of passenger transport services, reported that its profit before tax for the six months ended 27 December 2014 rose 10.9% to 44.7 million pounds from the previous year's 40.3 million pounds.
Profit attributable to members for the first half was 30.8 million pounds, lower than last year's 33.6 million pounds.
Adjusted profit attributable to members declined to 32.4 million pounds from 35.7 million pounds in the same period last year, with adjusted earnings per share dropping to 75.6 pence, from 83.3 pence last year.
Group revenue for the period rose 13.8% to 1.56 billion pounds from 1.37 billion pounds in the previous year. The majority of this increase was attributable to the rail division, predominantly due to the introduction of the GTR franchise on 14 September 2014.
The Group said that it is in a good financial position with strong cash generation and a robust balance sheet, supporting its progressive dividend policy. The company is committed to this policy, recognising the importance of the dividend to the investment decision of many of its shareholders.
Accordingly, the company increased its interim dividend by 4.3% to 26.6 pence per share, payable on 10 April 2015 to shareholders registered at the close of business on 27 March 2015.
Overall, the Board's expectations for the full year results remain unchanged, with second half profits similar to those achieved in the first half year for both its bus and rail divisions.
The company said it is pleased with the margin improvement in its regional bus business and its commitment to delivering bus operating profit target by 2015/16 is unchanged.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
