Go-Ahead reports solid year-to-date trading, FY expectations unchanged

Expectations for the full-year remain unchanged at Go-Ahead Group, the transport group reported on Thursday, nudging shares higher in early trade. The group said trading in the year to date had been "solid" and it remained in a good financial position, with strong cash generation and a robust balance sheet. In the Bus division, its deregulated operations were driven by good growth in passenger numbers and increased mileage, while its regulated operations saw further mileage growth in the third quarter due to continued higher levels of rail replacement work. Bonus payments declined slightly in the first quarter of 2014, it added. The Rail division experienced continued "solid" underlying revenue growth, but said passenger journey data across all companies continues to be affected by changes in Travelcard allocations, inflating growth rates.Within its rail franchises, Southern was in line with its expectations, and is set to enter revenue support in the fourth quarter of the year, while Southeastern began a seven-month extension period on the original franchise terms. The rate of passenger revenue growth on the London Midland franchise, however, began to slow as a result of increased competition on the west coast mainline. David Brown, Group Chief Executive of Go-Ahead, said: "I am pleased with the overall performance of both our bus and rail businesses and our expectations for the full year remain unchanged. "We continue to make good progress in our bus division and are on course to achieve our operating profit target of £100m by 2015/16. Our focus remains on achieving cost efficiencies in all areas of the business and driving revenue growth through our high quality operations. During the period we welcomed the results of the independent statutory watchdog Passenger Focus' national customer satisfaction survey in which Go North East achieved 90% satisfaction. "In our rail division overall underlying trading remains in line with our expectations. We await the outcome of the Department for Transport's Thameslink franchise competition and our bid team continues to work on upcoming opportunities."Shares climbed 1.93% to 2,011p by 08:12 on Thursday. NR