Trainline shares tumble despite record sales ahead of national ticket app launch
Trainline shares tanked on Thursday despite record full-year sales and the announcement of a £75m buyback programme.
A bumper set of results failed to quell investor fears over the launch of a state-owned rival ticketing app in the UK, with the stock dropping more than 13 per cent in early deals.
It came despite net ticket sales increasing by 12 per cent to a record £5.9bn year-on-year, in line with previously upgraded guidance but towards the bottom end.
The increase was driven by Trainline’s UK business, where sales grew 13 per cent to £3.9bn. International ticket sales rose four per cent to £1.1bn, driven by a strong performance from its Spanish business.
Trainline on Thursday announced a fresh share repurchase scheme of up to £75m. It has an ongoing buyback programme of up to eight per cent of its issued share capital already.
“With record net ticket sales for the third year in a row, we saw growth in consumer sales in the UK of 13 per cent and in Spain of 41 per cent, while international B2B sales through our Global API increased by about 60 per cent,” Jody Ford, chief executive, said.
“Our decades-long experience in delivering ease, choice and value for our 27m customers sets us apart from the competition, be it global tech players or national incumbents.
“There is still so much to be achieved in the UK and Europe with the critical foundation being open, fair and competitive markets. Rail is set to surge across Europe and Trainline will be at the centre of it.”
Shares in Trainline have struggled this year despite a series of solid results. The stock has fallen more than 30 per cent already since January, largely down to the UK government’s announcement of a new rival state ticket app at the beginning of the year.