"Go-Ahead is one of the UK’s leading public transport providers enabling more than a billion journeys each year on our bus and rail services. At Go-Ahead we place great importance on partnership, adopting a collaborative approach with governments, local communities and strategic partners; developing and operating services that create long term value for all of us.

Since our foundation in the 1980s, we have transformed from a small bus operator in north-east England to an organisation providing more than a billion journeys each year on our UK bus and rail services. The Group listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1994 and is included in the FTSE 250."

https://www.go-ahead.com/en/index.html

StockMarketWire.com
Go-Ahead said Thursday operating profit topped expectations as its rail business performed better-than-expected and its bus division was bolstered by increased performance in London.

For the full-year ended 30 June, profit before tax rose 6.5% to £145.7m and revenue fell 0.6% to £3.46bn.

Operating profit fell 9.8%, less than management had expected, which was attributed to improved performance in its bus divisions and better-than-expected profits in its rail business.

'Our bus operations performed resiliently with profits slightly up on last year despite a challenging market environment. Rail profits fell partly due to the expiry of the London Midland franchise in December, but one-off disposal gains at the end of the franchise and some cost improvement benefits at Southeastern led to a better performance than originally expected,' the company said.

Go-Ahead maintained its full-year dividend of 102.08p a share.

"For the Group overall, we expect to deliver a robust performance in 2018/19, taking into account the expiry of the London Midland franchise last year which contributed positively for the first six months of 2017/18.

"We expect free cash flow generation to be strong, resulting in a further reduction in net debt excluding restricted rail cash," said David Brown, Group Chief Executive.

StockMarketWire.com
Go-Ahead said Thursday it was on track to meet full-year expectations on the back of a 'marked' improvement in its rail business.

Bus passenger revenues increased 3% on the back of a 1.5% pick up in passenger journeys during the period from July to 28 November.

While rail passenger revenues rose 7% amid a 5% pick up in passenger journeys, supported by the resumption of full services through London Bridge station since January and by the good weather during the period, the company said. 'In bus, our London operations have continued to earn strong Quality Incentive Contract income through the delivery of good service performance. In our regional bus business, overall passenger volumes have grown although the trends remain mixed across the country, said Go-Ahead Group Chief Executive, David Brown. 'In rail, I am pleased that the past few months have seen a marked improvement in the operational performance of GTR. Southeastern has continued to perform very well and it has consistently been the best performing large train franchise in the UK in recent months.'

StockMarketWire.com
Go-Ahead said Tuesday The Department for Transport decided against stripping the company of its Govia Thameslink rail franchise following the industry-wide failures concerning the May timetable upgrade.

As part of the agreement, Go-Ahead's profit on its contract with the Department for Transport relating to the Govia Thameslink rail franchise would be capped and the company was ordered to pay £15m for 'passenger enhancements.'

'As a result, the margin over the franchise term is now expected to be between 0.75 to 1 per cent (previously 0.75 to 1.5 per cent), with no profit expected in the current financial year, Go-Ahead said.

The Group's full year expectations for the current financial year remained unchanged, in line with the trading update published on 29 Nov., the company confirmed.

Go-Ahead agrees terms with FirstGroup to purchase Manchester bus depot
The Go-Ahead Group is pleased to announce it has agreed terms with FirstGroup to purchase the Queen's Road bus depot. The sale, which is due to complete in the next few months, will take Go-Ahead into Manchester, Britain's second-largest urban area, for the first time.

Go-Ahead is looking forward to working in partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to deliver operational excellence, innovation and a focus on customer service.