Trainline PLC (LSE:TRN) reported 12% full-year growth in total ticket sales and announced a share buyback of up to £75 million, as it tried to assuage investor worries about the impending arrival of Great British Rail (GBR).
The ticketing app generated £5.9 million in total ticket sales in the year to the end of February 2025, up 12% on a reported and constant currency basis.
This was down from the 14% growth in net sales it revealed in October and at the bottom end of the guidance range given at the time.
It made £442 million of revenue in the period, up 11% on the year before, and also within the guided range.
CEO Jody Ford said: "Trainline is delivering as a truly homegrown tech success and today has announced a further share buyback of up to £75 million."
He hailed record net ticket sales for the third year in a row, with 13% growth in consumer sales in the UK and 41% in Spain, while international B2B sales increased roughly 60%.
On GBR, Trainline noted the UK government's statements about the replacement of train operator retail websites with a single public sector retail website and app, adding that GBR's retail arm is only expected to appear by 2027 at the earliest and that the government has been "unequivocal in its commitment to a fair, open and competitive market, recognising the central role independent retailers play".
The government is engaging with Trainline and other independent retailers to assess various safeguards typically observed in regulated markets, it said, to ensure GBR retail is not treated favourably versus other retailers, in line with competition law principles.