Elizabeth Line operator doubles profit before contract loss
Profit at the first company to operate the Elizabeth Line in London more than doubled in the year before it lost the contract, it has been revealed.
The division of MTR Corporation is part of the wider majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong and had run the line since it first opened.
However, the business was informed in November 2024 that it would be awarded the next Elizabeth Line contract and the company has now ceased operations.
Now, new accounts filed with Companies House have revealed the firm’s pre-tax profit jumped from £16.3m to £40.8m in the 12 months to 31 March, 2025.
Over the same period, its revenue also climbed from £331.4m to £335.1m.
A dividend of £7.6m was also issued for the year, the same total as was paid out in the prior 12 months.
New Elizabeth Line operator in the red
The results come after Morning Wire reported in June that the operator of London’s Thameslink and Gatwick Express slumped into the red before taking over the Elizabeth Line
Go-Ahead reported a pre-tax loss of $36.9m for 2024, having posted a pre-tax profit of $9.7m for the prior 15 months.
However, the group pointed to it making a profit after tax of $3.1m, compared to a loss of $13.1m in 2023, and that its pre-tax loss does not take into account profit from its disposals.
The Newcastle-headquartered group had been listed on the London Stock Exchange before being acquired by Australian and Spanish firms Kinetic Group and Globalvia in 2022 in a deal worth around £650m.
The group also runs rail service Southern and a range of local bus routes across the UK.
The group took over the running of the Elizabeth Line in May this year after being handed the seven-year contract by Transport for London in November 2024.
The group is operating the service through a joint venture with Tokyo Metro and Sumitomo Corporation.