FirstGroup profits derailed

12th May 2010 07:41

Full-year profit fell 10% at bus and trains company FirstGroup, hit by the recession and higher fuel costs, while poor weather during the fourth quarter cost the business £16m.Profit before tax dropped to £179.6m in the 12 months ended 31 March, down from £200m the year before, on revenue up 2% to £6.3bn thanks to £176.3m of favourable foreign exchange movements.But it could have been worse without the positive impact of the firm's cost savings programme. It has delivered annual savings of over £200m."The group has delivered a resilient performance in line with management expectations against the backdrop of a challenging trading environment and significantly higher hedged fuel costs which increased by approximately £90m during the year," said chief executive Moir Lockhead.But the new financial year is expected to remain challenging, partly due to ongoing pressure on public spending in North America in response to the uncertain global economic outlook."Despite these challenges we are confident that the group will return to earnings growth in the coming year," said Lockhead. "While it is still early in the new financial year, overall the group has continued to trade well and is in line with our expectations."A final dividend of 14p is up 10% on the year before, making a full year payment of 20.65p compared with 18.75p last time.