FirstGroup share price rises on positive expectations
FirstGroup shares edged up this morning after the transport company said it was on track to meet its expectations.
In a trading update for the six months to 30 September, it said it experienced strong revenue growth in both its rail and bus businesses and that the other parts of its operations were also progressing.
For UK rail specifically, it said the performance of its remaining networks was “exceeding expectations”.
This is despite tricky conditions faced by the company in some areas, including the loss of some of its key UK contracts last year and the negative impact of falling oil prices on its US operations.
Commenting on the update, chief executive Tim O'Toole said:
Overall trading for the Group during the first half was in line with our expectations. We continue to progress our transformation plans which will drive sustainable improvements in the financial performance and cash generation of the Group, despite a more challenging trading environment in some of our markets in the period.
Shares in the firm climbed slightly following the news, and were up 1.72 per cent at 100p in early trading. Final results for the half year will be released on 12 November.