National Express posts positive results across all divisions

A rise in revenue across its fleet of divisions has driven National Express’ profit before tax up over 87%.

The FTSE 250 transport company said on Thursday that revenue for the year to 31 December 2015 surged from £66.5m in 2014 to £124.4m.

That was boosted by a 2.8% rise in group revenue, from £1.87bn to £1.92bn.

The company said it had an excellent first full year of the new c2c franchise, including posting record passenger numbers which in turn drove revenue growth of 9.5%.

It also secured a five-year "Bus Alliance” with local authorities in the West Midlands, which supported growth in operating profit.

Additionally, the company had a successful North American School Bus bid season, with an average price rise of 2.8% across all contracts, off-setting wage inflation.

National Express said it is proposing a 10% increase to the full year dividend to 11.33p per share.

Group chief executive Dean Finch said the results demonstrates the group’s focus on operational excellence is generating excellent returns for shareholders and customers.

“I am pleased that every division has increased revenue, helping to drive overall group profit growth and another strong free cash flow performance,” he said.

“We continue to draw on our international reputation for operational excellence to expand new market opportunities.

“We have an active pipeline of bids within Europe and the Middle East that will continue to deliver new growth opportunities."

Shares in National Express surged 26.2p (8.87%) to 321.50 at 0930 GMT.