fgp6 Nov 2013 23:13
Interim results: Whilst acknowledging it is early days into its multi-year plan, FirstGroup reported clear indications that it is making progress. The rail and bus operator, which raised £615 million by virtue of a rights issue to shore up its balance sheet, reported a narrowing in its pre-tax losses to £8 million, which compared with a £20.6 million loss at the same point in 2012. The Aberdeen headquartered group saw revenues at its UK Bus segment fall 14% to £490.7 million during the period, after allowing for the sale of its London bus operations and the absence of last year's Olympic Games. Revenues at First Student in the US improved by 1.2%, in part due to the recovery of operational delays lost to severe weather conditions last year. Overall contract retention rates remained around 90%. First Transit, as expected, delivered a robust performance with dollar revenues advancing 8.8%, driven by contract opportunities in paratransit and its shuttle segments. On the downside, Greyhound's operations continued to be affected by the prolonged US economic downturn. Elsewhere, demand for services within UK Rail remained good with like-for-like passenger revenues increasing by 5.7% in the period. Martin Gilbert, FirstGroup's outgoing chairman, who announced at the time of the rights issue in May that he would step down as soon as a replacement is found, said there are "early signs" that the company's turnaround initiatives are "bearing fruit". "I have confidence that, as we move to the next phase of our development, FirstGroup will continue to build on this success" he said in the chairman's statement.