Go-Ahead profits tumble following loss of London Midland franchise

(Sharecast News) - British transport firm Go-Ahead Group reported lower annual pre-tax profits on Thursday after earnings from its rail unit almost halved following the loss of its London Midland franchise.
Pre-tax profits slumped 33.4% to £97m for the year ended 29 June, while operating profits in Go-Ahead's rail division fell 42.9% to £25.4m after its London Midland franchise agreement expired in December 2017. Earnings per share tumbled 34% to 136.8p.

However, Go-Ahead said revenues rose 10% to £3.81bn thanks to a strong performance by its bus operations in Singapore and new operations in Ireland.

The FTSE 250 company maintained its full-year dividend of 102.08p a share.

Chief executive David Brown said: "Overall for 2020, we are confident that the group will deliver another robust performance in line with our expectations as we continue to execute our clear and well-defined strategy; strengthening our core business, diversifying into international markets and developing new ways of responding to a changing world."

Chairman Andrew Allner added: "Today, the group is in a strong position. We have an important and worthwhile purpose, strong values and culture, a clear strategy addressing the short, medium and longer-term, a well defined business model serving the interests of all our stakeholders, a robust balance sheet, and a strong leadership team, all of which position us well for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead."

At 0950 BST, the shares were down 0.5% at 2,138.00p.