Go-Ahead Group Expects To Meet Expectations

24th Jun 2010 07:36

By Kaveri Niththyananthan Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Bus and rail company Go-Ahead Group PLC (GOG.LN) Thursday remained cautious on the near-term prospects for the U.K. economy but said it was confident it would meet its expectations for the fiscal year and that maintaining its dividend was a priority. Go-Ahead said its bus operations continued to perform well and it expects operating profit for the fiscal year to July 3 will be around GBP63 million compared with GBP66.6 million a year earlier. It expects revenue and mileage across its U.K.-regulated London bus operations to rise 6% over the 12-month period. However, on a like-for-like basis, it is expected to be just under 2%. Revenue and passenger numbers at its deregulated bus operations are expected to rise 7%, but, on a like-for-like basis, growth in passenger numbers will be 3% and revenue growth will be 4%, the company said. In its rail division, operating profit for the year should be about GBP34 million compared with GBP61.5 million a year ago. For the next financial year, it expect operating profit margin to fall, the company said without explanation. At its Southern franchise, it expects revenue to show growth of about 9%, with just over half that increase down to passenger numbers. Fiscal year passenger revenue growth at Southeastern is expected to be about 7%, supported by a slight increase in passenger numbers. At London Midland, passenger revenue was expected to be up 9% and the company said it is making progress on cost control. It said its North American yellow bus joint venture is making good progress and that it increased the number of buses to 120 from 100 but will maintain its "cautious approach to expansion in this market." Go-Ahead's shares have shed 6% in value over the past three months and closed Wednesday at 1319 pence. -By Kaveri Niththyananthan, Dow Jones Newswires; 4420 7842 9299; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 24, 2010 02:36 ET (06:36 GMT)