"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

Good first half performance; full year expectations increase, due to one-off rail benefits

Business overview
• Good first half performance; full year expectations increase, due to one-off rail benefits

• Bus division results stable and in line with expectations - operating profit of £46.6m (H1'17: £46.4m)

• Rail division results ahead of expectations for the half year - reported operating profit of £40.3m (H1'17: £26.6m), including one-off rail benefits

• GTR/Southeastern - no change to full year expectations, first half outperformance due to phasing of contractual settlements

• London Midland - strong trading performance until franchise end in December 2017 and £6.4m one-off profit on sale of assets

• Mobilisation of Dublin bus contract and three German rail contracts is progressing well ahead of respective 2018 and 2019 start dates

• Strong bid pipeline in our target international markets over next few years

• Interim dividend maintained at 30.17p

• Continued focus on making travel simpler by introducing new payment options and channels including flat fares, fare capping, and contactless payments

• Applying our 30-years of experience to influence stakeholders and Government on the importance of bus in reducing congestion and improving air-quality, and the value private companies bring through the delivery of customer-focused public-sector transport services

• Progress in all three Group strategic objectives: protect and grow the core, win new bus and rail contracts and develop for future transport needs.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5865096

.... the straphangers yielding a respectable divi too...

Citigroup today reaffirms its buy investment rating on Go-Ahead Group (The) PLC (LON:GOG) and raised its price target to 2360p (from 1745p).

So much for Citigroup - big drop from the start today....

Deutsche Bank less than enthusiastic???

StockMarketWire.com
Go-Ahead said in a trading update that it expected to deliver performance slightly ahead of expectations amid good performance in its rail division year to date.

'The board is confident the group will deliver full year results that are slightly ahead of its previous expectations,' the company said.

For the period from 2 July 2017 to 28 April 2018, the firm said revenue and passenger journey growth was impacted by adverse weather.

In its regional bus division, Go-ahead said revenue growth was flat while passenger journeys growth fell 2%.

'Across the division we continue to see growth in some regions and expect regional bus profit for the second half of the year to be close to last year's level,' the company said.

In London bus, mileage was flat, revenue rose 3% and peak vehicle requirement fell 1% as expected. The firmed warned that the timing of some contract losses would shave 1% off full-year mileage.

'The second half of the year is expected to deliver operating profitability at London bus that is comparable to the first half, representing an improvement on our previous expectations,' the company said.

Go-Ahead said its Southeastern franchise saw passenger revenue grow 3.5% and passenger journeys rise 1%, supported by renewed services through London Bridge station, after three years of partial closure.

During the period, the DfT confirmed a 12-week extension to the current Southeastern franchise to 1 April 2019, Go-Ahead said.

The firm said it was made the preferred bidder for a second bus tender in Dublin by Ireland's National Transport Authority, taking the total number of routes operated by Go-Ahead in the Irish capital to 30.

The contract would run for five years from early 2019 with a possible two-year extension.

The company also announced it would launch a new minibus service in Oxford next month - called 'Pick Me Up'.

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.