Higher bus fares help lift earnings for National Express owner Mobico

National Express owner Mobico has said an increase in passengers and a jump in bus fares helped drive higher sales in the UK, as the transport giant edges back to profit after a punishing year.

Mobico said bus ticket prices in some parts of the UK increased by 12.5% in July last year, with a further rise implemented at the end of June this year.

This affected its leading bus network in the West Midlands, while Mobico also runs the country’s largest scheduled coach service under the National Express brand.

The company reported UK revenues of £307 million for the first six months of the year, 7.7% higher than the same period a year ago.

This was largely driven by an 8% jump in passengers over the latest period, as well as more expensive bus tickets.

Its coach division saw a slight increase in passengers but this was compared with last year when the business was boosted by widespread rail strikes, which resulted in more people seeking alternative travel.

Mobico said it will gain greater control over its bus routes and ticket prices when an agreement with Transport for West Midlands finishes at the end of the year.

It also expects there to be more franchising of UK bus services as a result of the new Labour Government.

Meanwhile, the business said revenues increased across the group, largely thanks to a strong performance for its Spanish bus and coach brand Alsa.

It is also preparing to sell its North American school bus division, which operates in states across the country.

Mobico revealed it is edging back to profit after a difficult 2023 marred by accounting issues with its German rail arm, and rising costs of managing its transport networks, which saw its profits plunge.

It reported a pre-tax loss of £1.5 million, considerably smaller than the £41.9 million loss posted this time last year.

On an adjusted basis, which strips out the impact of one-off costs, its operating profit surged by 24% to £71.2 million for the latest period.

Mobico said its efforts to make cost savings alongside further fare price rises will help improve its profitability over the second half of the year.