East Coast line grows National Express profits

RAIL services running on the East Coast Main Line have helped to boost profits at transport firm National Express.

The group posted pre-tax profits of £90 million for the six months ended June 30, up 13.9 per cent from last year.

The company also saw revenues rise 4.4 per cent to £1.367.2m, and said they were on-track to deliver their expected full year results.

One of the main engines of the profit growth has been the successful start of the national Express East Coast franchise.

The firm took over the running of the East Coast Main Line from GNER last year, and will hold the franchise for eight years.

They have already seen an 11 per cent growth in revenue, and have been praised in customer surveys for the improved services being offered.

In their interim results, the company said it was on track to deliver its bid commitments, with 80 per cent of the investment plan being delivered over the first 12 months of the franchise.

The company has already achieved a quarter of its committed obligations, including the delivery of free Wi-Fi throughout all trains.

The like-for-like revenue growth of 11 per cent was in line with expectations, and the company said it had seen particularly strong year-on-year growth in advance ticket sales, thanks to major marketing campaigns promoting headline fares, such as its Miniature Prices campaign.

Their share of the highly-prized London to Scotland route was now 17 per cent, compared to 13 per cent in April 2006.

National Express also said it planned a £7.8m station improvement programme in the near future, to further boost customer services.

David Ross, National Express Chairman, said: "Over the last six months the Group has traded well. We are benefiting from our customer knowledge and ability to capitalise on new opportunities.

"In the UK, our trains business is seeing good growth. The performance of National Express East Coast, together with revenue growth of 11 per cent, is a source of great confidence."

The company runs over 2000 buses and 500 coaches in the UK, with services to more than 1,000 destinations.

Revenue for the period from bus services was £169.2m, a 7 per cent increase in like-for-like revenue across the business, with normalised operating profit of £20.6m.

The firm coach business saw revenues rise slightly to £117.7m, with normalised operating profit of £1.8m.

Environmental and economic concerns saw the company highlight coach travel as increasingly important, and they said Eurolines coaches to Paris and Amsterdam had seen an increase in passenger numbers, as had its Eurolines Ski Service.

The company's results were also helped by the performance of their Spanish businesses, where National Express is the largest private coach and bus operator.

Normalised operating profit in Spain was £31.7m, up from £18.9m in 2007.

Mr Ross added: "We are delighted by the performance of our enlarged Spanish business."