National Express slips to big annual pre-tax loss
National Express, which runs bus services in the West Midlands conurbation, slipped to a pre-tax loss of £444.7 million last year as it was hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Birmingham-based group's revenue for 2020 was down 28.7 per cent on 2019, at £1.96 billion.
National Express, which also runs national coach services and international services, says it has reduced costs across the business.
It has exited certain contracts and accessed government support schemes to ensure that when it emerges from the pandemic the group will be leaner, fitter and financially stronger.
There had been a very strong performance pre-pandemic, with revenue up 17 per cent in the first two months of 2020.
Group chief executive Ignacio Garat said: “We have a strong and diverse international transport platform that has demonstrated its resilience in recent months. We have a clear set of priorities to ensure we will return to growth in a prudent and safe manner. We will be competing to win.”
More Covid news:
Mr Garat said he was immensely proud of the performance of the National Express team in tackling the challenges faced in the past year and had been impressed by the professionalism and dedication of colleagues across the group, who had done an outstanding job in delivering safe and reliable services for customers during the most testing of times.
He added: "I am also grateful for the support we have received from both customers and authorities, which demonstrates not only the essential nature of our services but also the strength of the relationships that we have built and the extent to which we are perceived as a trusted partner.
Recovery
"This partnership approach, and the non-discretionary nature of the majority of our services positions us well for a strong recovery as travel restrictions are lifted in the months ahead. This is boosted by the sustainable cost savings made, and new contracts won during the period."
National Express saw improvement in earnings and cash generation in the final quarter of last year.
When travel restrictions have been lifted it has seen a rapid recovery in demand.
National Express plans to move to a fully zero emission fleet in the UK and made good progress in the last year, with 29 electric buses now running in the West Midlands.
Coventry is set to become the first electric bus city with significant funding secured for up to 170 electric vehicles over the next two to three years.
National Express won the bid to operate the new hydrogen-powered bus service in Birmingham, with 20 vehicles ordered, funded by Birmingham City Council, and entering service later this year.
UK revenue was down from £599.7m to £388.2 as it went from an operating profit of £84.1m in 2019 to a loss of £99.4m.
When the first UK lockdown hit in March it saw an immediate impact in both buses and coaches, with passenger numbers dropping dramatically. At the peak of the lockdown bus operations saw patronage fall by more than 80 per cent, with 47 per cent of services operating, while in coach, the nationwide travel ban effectively cut demand to zero.
For the year as a whole, passenger numbers were down 47 per cent in UK bus operations and 71 per cent in core coach operations.
In the West Midlands National Express closed its Bordesley depot, with all employees and services transferred to other sites. Coach and bus head offices moved to one single site, providing not only cost savings but also better opportunities for collaborative working
The investment made in digital in recent years is continuing to drive a greater proportion of sales via digital platforms, with more than 70 per cent of customers now purchasing digital tickets in bus, helping to reduce costs. 2021 will see the launch of new and more flexible contactless products with weekly and three-day price capping.
