WHEN even the environment blesses entrepreneurial multi-millionaires like Brian Souter, founder and chief executive of Stagecoach, you sense he is holding all the picture cards, writes Martin Flanagan.
The Perth-based bus and rail group boss faced severe problems early in the new millennium when difficulties at his US bus operation and managerial upheaval threatened to derail the whole business.
But yesterday's robust annual figures show the Sco
ttish transport king is back on the right track.
And foremost among the investors who benefit from a 31 per cent jump in the total dividend to 5.4p are Souter and his sister, Ann Gloag. Their 26 per cent stake gives them a final dividend of about £7.5 million, having taken £2.5m at the interim stage.
Underlying revenues at Stagecoach have jumped 17 per cent to £1.8 billion in the year to end-April, while operating profits climbed 27 per cent – or £44m – to £205.3m.
Souter said: "I am the most positive I have been about buses in 35 years in the industry. UK buses are a great place to be."
The UK bus division, with operations from the Scottish Highlands to the south-west of England, boosted profits 25 per cent to £110m.
The performance was despite the company's fuel bill rising £3m to £112m in the period.
Souter said rising fuel costs meant "our fares may go up 1 or 2 per cent more than inflation but car costs have gone up 35 per cent in 12 months".
Environmentally-conscious people were also taking people off the road, he said.
Stagecoach's rail division, which includes South West Trains out of London Waterloo, edged profits up 0.5 per cent to £59m on revenues up 36 per cent to £777.8m.
The group's 49 per cent share of Virgin Rail, operator of the West Coast Mainline, yielded a profit of £42m – more than treble the previous year's £12.4m. The North America bus operation (excluding the fledgling Megabus operation) increased profit 31 per cent to $48m, with finance director Martin Griffiths saying the weak dollar "is definitely supporting inbound tourism into the US".
The City is forecasting even better Stagecoach operating profits this year of £224m.
The full article contains 382 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
