National Express on the road to recovery as profits and revenue rise

The firm, which operates bus services in the West Midlands, saw revenues increase by one-third to £1.3 billion for the six months ended June 30 2022 – its biggest revenue increase in over a decade.

It also recorded a £20.5 million pre-tax profit, a £70m improvement on a year ago.

It won 16 new contracts in the period worth over £150 million in revenue.

The Birmingham-headquartered group also sees demand for travel rebounding and believes the prospects for public transport are improving. Its UK division is expected to return to full-year profit, it added.

Ignacio Garat, chief executive, said: “I am pleased to see momentum building across the group, with strong growth in revenue, profit and cash in the first half.

"Our Evolve strategy is delivering results and we are increasingly demonstrating our ability to rapidly mobilise safe, high quality operations on which our customers can rely. We won 16 new contracts in the half, which will contribute over £150 million over their lives, and there is more to come. Our pipeline of growth opportunities now stands at more than £2 billion in annualised revenue.

"The path ahead will not be without challenges. We believe, however, that we are well positioned in an inflationary environment; resilient to slowing economic growth; and are taking all the steps we can to mitigate the industry-wide shortage of school bus drivers in the US. Whilst mindful of these challenges we maintain our full year guidance and continue to anticipate reinstating a full-year dividend in respect of FY 2022.

"What we do is ever more critical for today’s world, providing part of the solution to both the climate crisis and cost of living crisis, enabling people to swap their private car journeys for public transport. I am confident that we have the team, the strategy and customer relationships to succeed, and I remain very excited about our future.”