National Express recovery speeding up before second lockdown
Coach operator National Express said that its revenue and earnings had continued to rise in the build up to the second national lockdown.
In a trading update, the FTSE 250 business said that it had secured around 70 per cent of last year’s revenue in October, up from 60 per cent in August.
It added it had recorded the highest monthly earnings thus far in 2020 in October.
However, National Express admitted that the pace of its recovery had been slower than previously hoped due to the impact of the second wave of coronavirus infections.
As a result of the second lockdown, the company said it had reduced its coach network to just nine per cent of last year’s service as of 9 November.
It had previously been operating roughly half of its services, with passenger capacity at around 80 per cent.
The company confirmed that a “large majority” of its staff had now been put back on the government’s furlough scheme.
National Express also took the decision to reinstate its guidance for the year and is forecasting earnings in the region of £170m-£190m.
The firm announced that it had won a new contract to operate 200 buses in Porto, expanding its operations in Portugal, as well as new deals in Warwickshire.
New chief executive Ignacio Garat said that Monday’s announcement of an effective coronavirus vaccine could signal a faster recovery than previously expected.
“Nonetheless, these remain difficult times for the public transport sector, at least in the short term”, he added.
“I am convinced, however, that National Express will continue to weather the challenges we face and has strong foundations in place to prosper once the pandemic is over.”