Trainline FY revenues rise but Covid-19 dents recent trading
Rail and coach travel platform Trainline reported a rise in full-year revenue on Thursday as tickets sales grew, but warned that the trading environment had "softened" in recent weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak.
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In an update for the 12 months ended 29 February, the company said revenue jumped 24% to £261m - at the top end of guidance - as total ticket sales pushed up 17% to £3.7bn.
UK consumer net ticket sales increased 24%, reflecting strong mobile demand driven by increasing eticket availability and adoption by customers. Trainline said ticket sales also benefited from the positive reception to the January launch of 'SplitSave', a new split-ticketing mobile app feature.
Net ticket sales in UK Trainline for Business declined 1%, with while label ticket sales hit by a change in operator and branding for the West Coast mainline franchise in the fourth quarter.
International net ticket sales were up 41%, with new customer acquisition continuing to underpin growth, partly offset by the impact of widespread national strike action in France in the fourth quarter.
UK consumer revenue grew 30%, driven by strong momentum in net ticket sales and the launch of new revenue services in the last 12 months, while international revenue was 79% higher, supported by rapid growth in net ticket sales and the launch of new revenue services in its international markets.
Chief executive officer Clare Gilmartin said: "We are pleased to announce a strong trading performance for this financial year, with net ticket sales in line with and revenue growth ahead of expectations set out at the IPO. We have continued to focus on our mission to make rail and coach travel easier for customers in all the markets in which we operate, thereby encouraging a much greener way to travel."
Trainline also cautioned on Thursday that the trading environment had become "more challenging" in recent weeks. It said trading "softened significantly" in February in Italy following an increased number of Covid-19 cases and demand has since weakened across the rest of the international business.
UK demand has remained more resilient, it said, although growth has slowed particularly from inbound travellers.
"The COVID-19 situation continues to evolve and at this time its ongoing impact is difficult to fully assess. As you would expect, the group is monitoring the situation closely and will continue to take mitigating actions as appropriate," it said.
At 0910 GMT, the shares were down 12% at 343p in a sharply lower London market.