Summer sun shined on National Express as coach business boomed

The Birmingham-based group described the performance of its UK coach arm as 'outstanding', while its Spanish business also produced strong figures.

In an update on trading for the period between July and the end of September, National Express said group revenue was up 9.5 per cent, while pre-tax profits had accelerated by 18.3 per cent.

Dean Finch, group chief executive said: "We had a good summer’s trading, with our UK coach business in particular delivering outstanding organic growth. Group revenue and profit are up strongly and we are carrying more passengers. We expect this momentum to continue in our traditionally quieter fourth quarter.

“With Spanish concession renewals further delayed, a major contract starting during 2019 in Rabat and encouraging pricing trends in North America, our outlook is positive. Our continued focus on cashflow and operational performance should allow us to continue to grow profit in the years ahead.”

National Express is the dominant bus operator in the West Midlands region, employing more than 5,500 people and operating 1,500 vehicles that handle nearly eight in every 10 public transport journeys in the West Midlands.

Strong trading this summer in both its bus and national coach businesses have delivered revenue growth of 5.3 per cent, with "coach especially showing outstanding organic growth".

Commercial revenue for the bus service rose by 1.1 per cent and passenger numbers rose by just 0.5 per cent.

The company hailed the success of its mobile phone ticketing service: "M-tickets continue to grow strongly, with further evidence they are driving extra journeys on our services. We remain on-track for our projection of 70 per cent of revenue through digital methods by the year end."

The coach business "performed outstandingly" with passenger numbers up six per cent, as the core business took more than £5million a week in August for the first time ever.

The figures build on a strong first half, and the company said it expected its "positive momentum" to continue.

Its overseas businesses are doing well, with it Rabat bus contract next year set to make it Morocco's largest transport operator with around one billion euros of revenues.

In North America it saw a strong start to the new school year for its bus service, with another big contract win.

North America: a strong start to the new school year, complemented by a significant transit win in California.