London Midland operator's profits soar to nearly £100m
The owner of rail operator London Midland raked in almost £100 million in pre-tax profit last year, new figures have revealed.
Go-Ahead, which has a 65 per cent stake in the West Midlands rail franchise operator, reported pre-tax profits up 26.8 per cent at £98.8 million in the year to July 2.
The figure was achieved on revenue of £3.36 billion – a 4.5 per cent increase on last year.
The announcement is sure to create more controversy for the company, which has come under fire for its handling of the Southern Rail franchise elsewhere in the country.
It acknowledged it had been a "difficult year" for the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) arm which operates that part of the network.
London Midland was this week named as one of two potential operators for the renewed West Midlands franchise, which is due to begin next September, and the company said it was pleased with the performance of the railway.
"Our rail division has delivered a robust financial performance, with strong results in Southeastern and London Midland offsetting weakness in GTR," said chief executive David Brown, who has also said he does not want to be considered for a bonus this year amidst the controversy.
He also apologised to passengers for the continuous disruptions.
The company did point to 86 per cent approval ratings among passengers on London Midland, which runs services throughout the West Midlands region.
"London Midland continued its trend of improvement, reflected in strong customer satisfaction scores that have repeatedly increased," Mr Brown added.
"The franchise, which Go-Ahead has been operating since 2007, has been successful in terms of both operational and financial performance."
Passenger revenue from London Midland increased by 13.1 per cent to £330 million, with other revenue falling by 11.9 per cent to £44 million, and the subsidy on the service down 8.1 per cent to £52 million.
Passenger numbers increased by 5.9 per cent on a like-for-like basis, while the company also said London Midland's trading performance improved in the second half of the year.
Total revenue from railways increased by 4.2 per cent to £2.5 billion for the Newcastle-upon-Tyne group, with regional bus services making up the bulk of its other income.
