The bus and rail operator FirstGroup’s better than expected results for the year to March 25 were well received by the stock market, which lifted the shares 16½p, or 13.9 per cent, to 135¼p last night. Headline operating profit jumped 51 per cent from £106.7 million to £161 million.
Total revenue from continuing operations increased £170 million to £4.76 billion, of which £3.9 billion was rail and £903 million bus, before adjustments. More than £112 million of the gain came from buses, despite government funding being cut by £42.8 million. The economic squeeze meant that a fifth more people hopped on a bus last year, with the lure of a Westminster government scheme to cap fares and Scotland’s free travel to those aged under 22.
