* Says cannot forecast annual profit for yr to May 2021
* EPS in yr to May 2020 down 39% on COVID-19, end of
contracts
* Govt support to help it stay EBITDA positive in short-term
(Adds CEO comments, share price, background)
By Sarah Young
LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) - Britain's Stagecoach
expects government support for bus services to help its bottom
line this year but said it was unable to make a profit forecast
because of the continuing impact of the coronavirus on demand
for public transport.
Since March government funding has helped bus operators to
maintain services despite user numbers plunging because of
advice to avoid public transport during lockdown.
That funding is set to continue to the end of October and
Stagecoach, the UK's biggest bus and coach operator, said that
talks have already begun about support for another 12 weeks
after that.
"They're not funding us to make significant profits, but
there's a recognition from government that if they want certain
levels of service to operate, then the costs need to be
covered," Finance Director Ross Paterson said in an interview on
Wednesday.
The government on Friday changed its guidance on public
transport, saying that people may now use it and Stagecoach
Chief Executive Martin Griffiths said he was optimistic and
numbers were rising.
"Every single day we're seeing more and more people coming
back to public transport," he told Reuters.
Passenger numbers are now at about 40% of last year's level,
up from about 10% at the height of lockdown, said Stagecoach,
which is now running about 80% of its services.
Shares in Stagecoach, which had lost two thirds of their
value since the beginning of the year, were up 8% at 54 pence.
The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown hit Stagecoach's results
for the 12 months to May 2, as did the ending of two rail
contracts in Britain and the sale of its North American unit,
meaning that adjusted earnings per share fell 39% to 13.5 pence.
Stagecoach said it was hard to forecast the outcome for the
current financial year but government support should help it to
generate positive core earnings in the short term.
(Reporting by Sarah Young
Editing by David Goodman)
