Stagecoach Group PLC (LON:SGC) shares fell on Tuesday as the transport operator revealed that the recent adverse weather conditions caused by the ‘Beast from the East’ had affected its UK regional bus revenue, though its full-year expectations remain unchanged.
In a trading update, the FTSE 250-listed company said like-for-like-revenue growth for its regional UK Bus operations dropped by 2.5% year-on-year for the most recent four-week period, ‘illustrating the scale of the impact of these extreme weather conditions.”
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The group said, excluding that most recent four-week period, like-for-like revenue for its UK Bus regional operations grew 0.1% for the forty weeks ended 3 February 2018.
Stagecoach said a 4.3% fall UK Bus London division revenue was in line with company’s expectations and reflected the impact of contracts lost in the prior year.
On the railways, the company said revenue for UK Rail (excluding South West Trains) increased by 3.2%, while Virgin Rail Group revenue grew 2.8%.
The company said discussions are continuing with the Department for Transport regarding new contractual terms for the Virgin Trains Coast business, and it has submitted their bid for the new South Eastern franchise.
It added that the recent revenue trends in North America are lower than growth seen in the first half of the year, reflecting the timing of contract work during the year and "more severe weather" than anticipated over the winter months. For the 10 months ended February 28, Stagecoach North America operations revenue declined 0.6%.
Despite the results, however, Stagecoach said its adjusted earnings per share expectations for the year ending 28 April 2018 remain unchanged.
In late morning trade, Stagecoach shares were 0.7% lower at 130.3p.