Trainline sales surge as European routes open to competition

15th Mar 2023 07:55

(Sharecast News) - Online rail ticket seller Trainline said revenues surged 74% in its last fiscal year, driven by soaring international ticket sales as European routes opened up to competition, offsetting a UK performance hit by rail strikes.

Group net ticket sales rose 72% to £4.3bn in the 12 months to February 28, with those at Trainline's International Consumer unit more than doubling to £915m.

"A key driver is the arrival of carrier competition on key European routes, particularly in Spain where we are increasingly positioning ourselves as the aggregator of choice," Trainline said on Wednesday.

The company said group adjusted core earnings were expected to be in line with market expectations.

UK net ticket sales rose 55% to £2.8bn reflecting continued recovery in underlying passenger volume and a "significant step up in industry eticket usage", the company added.

"However, there were trading headwinds in H2 given ongoing rail strikes (£5-6m average gross sales impact per strike day), with demand for discretionary longer-distance travel marginally softer in early 2023."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com