Final Results
FIRSTGROUP PLC
PRELIMINARY RESULTS
FOR THE YEAR TO 31 MARCH 2013
* Overall trading for the Group in line with management's expectations
* Proposed fully underwritten c.£615m capital raising transaction announced
separately today to remove the constraints of the current balance sheet and
enable the business to continue to invest for future returns, while
reducing leverage
* No final dividend proposed. New progressive dividend policy announced
today.
* First Student - recovery plan on track, building on progress made from a
more efficient operating model and uniform practices
* First Transit - strong growth underpinned by good contract wins, disposal
of First Support Services consistent with our strategy to focus on core
businesses
* Greyhound - margin expansion despite economic headwinds, further expansion
of Greyhound Express to new markets
* UK Bus - completed portfolio reshaping with c.£100m of disposals, including
sale of London depots announced in April. Comprehensive programme to
restore performance and increase revenue and patronage delivering early
positive results
* UK Rail - continued strong performance, franchise extensions currently
being negotiated and positioned for resumption of franchising process
* Cash flow in line with expectations
Continuing operations1: 2013. 2012 Change
Revenue £6,900.9m £6,678.7m +3.3%
Underlying2
- EBITDA3 £667.0m £742.9m -10.2%
- operating profit £335.4m £428.5m -21.7%
- profit before tax £172.4m £271.4m -36.5%
- basic EPS 26.9p 40.0p -32.7%
Statutory
- operating profit £205.7m £448.0m -54.1%
- profit before tax £37.2m £279.9m -86.7%
- basic EPS 7.3p 42.7p -82.9%
Final dividend per share4 Nil 16.05p
Net debt5 £1,979.1m £1,837.5m +7.7%
1For all businesses excluding UK Railthis year includes 52 weeks compared to 53
weeks last year.
2Before amortisation charges, ineffectiveness on financial derivatives,
exceptional items, (loss)/profiton disposal of properties and discontinued
operations. All references to `underlying' figures throughout this report are
defined in this way.
3 Underlying operating profit less capital grant amortisation plus
depreciation.
4No final dividend is being proposed. An interim dividend of 7.62p was paid on
7 February 2013.
5Net debt is stated excluding accrued bond interest.
Commenting, FirstGroup's Chief Executive, Tim O'Toole said:
"With a fundamentally attractive portfolio of businesses and leading positions
in each of our markets, we are focused on delivering outstanding services to
our customers and communities, and harnessing the significant opportunities we
have to create long term sustainable value. We have delivered a resilient
trading performance in line with our expectations and have also achieved most
of the other goals we had set ourselves during the year, including our c.£100m
UK Bus disposal programme and divesting other non-core assets including First
Support Services.
"The real long term opportunity for us, however, arises from our business
recovery programmes, particularly in First Student and UK Bus. We have clear
plans in place for all of our divisions, and while there remains significant
work to be done, our confidence continues to grow as a result of the progress
to date.
"The proposed c.£615m capital raising transaction we are announcing separately
today will remove the constraints from our balance sheet and enhance our
ability to invest in our businesses going forward. We plan to invest around £
1.6 billion across our five divisions over the next four years to underpin
growth and return our businesses to our target levels of profitability. Through
these actions, combined with our scale and expertise, we are positioning the
business for improved growth and returning it to a profile of consistent
returns and cash generation.
"We are targeting an appropriate, progressive and sustainable dividend policy
with cover of 2.0 to 2.5x in the medium term. In the short term the Board
proposes that no final dividend will be paid in respect of the year to 31 March
2013, nor an interim dividend for the year to 31 March 2014. Payments will
recommence with a final dividend for the year to 31 March 2014, subject to
performance in line with expectations, as a transition to re-establishing a
progressive dividend policy thereafter. While the exact quantum will be
determined at that time, the Board's intent is to pay a transitional final
dividend of up to £50m in the year to 31 March 2014.
"Martin Gilbert has today announced his intention to stand down as Chairman,
once a successor has been appointed. On behalf of the Board and our 120,000
employees, I would like to pay tribute to Martin and thank him for his
outstanding contribution to the company. As Chairman and founder his vision and
drive have led the transformation of the Group and under his stewardship the
business has grown to become one of the world's leading transport operators."
Contacts:
FirstGroup plc:
Tim O'Toole, Chief Executive
Chris Surch, Group Finance Director Tel: +44 (0) 20 7291 0512
Rachael Borthwick, Group Corporate Communications Director, Tel: +44 (0) 20
7291 0508 / +44 (0) 7771 945432
Stuart Butchers, Group Corporate Communications Manager, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7291
0507 / +44 (0) 7713 317979
Brunswick Group:
Michael Harrison / Andrew Porter, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959
A PRESENTATION TO INVESTORS AND ANALYSTS WILL TAKE PLACE AT 9:00AM TODAY
ATTENDANCE IS BY INVITATION ONLY
A LIVE TELEPHONE `LISTEN IN' FACILITY IS AVAILABLE, FOR DETAILS PLEASE CONTACT
+44 (0) 20 7725 3354
A PLAY BACK FACILITY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE AT www.firstgroup.com/corporate/
investors/presentations.php
PHOTOS FOR THE MEDIA CAN BE OBTAINED BY CALLING +44 (0) 20 7725 3354
Chairman's statement
In a sector which is a key enabler of economic development, the Group's diverse
portfolio of businesses offer an attractive platform for sustainable growth.
During the year we continued to take action to mitigate the effects of the
prolonged economic downturn and to place the business on a firmer footing to
continue to invest for the future and deliver improved growth and returns.
The Group has grown rapidly over the last twenty years through a combination of
acquisition, organic growth and contract wins, and we have established a
broad-based portfolio of market leading transport businesses in the UK and
North America with unrivalled scale and breadth. We believe that our
wide-ranging stakeholders benefit from the diversity of the Group which
underpins our wealth of expertise and unique knowledge of the many different
markets, networks, contracts and assets.
The diversity of our portfolio also means that each of our businesses responds
differently to changes in the economic cycle, although the core drivers of our
industry to some extent transcend the ebbs and flows of macro-economic trends.
As the problems of congestion from urban growth continue to multiply, the need
for more efficient transport solutions is recognised as being ever more
critical.
The external headwinds we have faced this year have been considerable. The
sustained economic weakness across the UK and North America continued to affect
our passenger revenue businesses, and the impact of reduced Government support
for the bus industry in the UK during the year has been marked. It has also
been an exceptionally challenging period for the UK rail industry and for our
rail business in particular, following the unexpected cancellation of the
InterCity West Coast franchise competition. Notwithstanding the public
statements from the Department for Transport (DfT) that we were not at fault,
having followed due process and submitted a strong bid in strict accordance
with their terms, we were frustrated that our employees and our shareholders
had to endure this extraordinary series of events. In March, following the
completion of two independent reviews, the DfT issued a detailed timetable for
rail franchise awards over the next eight years and re-opened two of the live
competitions to pre-qualified bidders, of which the Group was one. As the UK's
largest and most experienced rail operator, we remain committed to maintaining
a leading position in the market, and look forward to submitting further high
quality bids that deliver for passengers, taxpayers and shareholders.
As we continue to manage in a climate of uncertainty, we have taken significant
steps this year to enhance our flexibility and strengthen our Group for the
future. Across the business there is a resolute drive to harness our scale by
developing and sharing our global expertise for the benefit of our local
markets. Led by Tim O'Toole, the management team remain focused on plans to
strengthen the business to address the challenges we are facing today, and to
deliver sustainable growth for the future.
During the year we took steps to further strengthen the Board through a number
of new appointments.
On 1 August 2012 we were pleased to welcome Brian Wallace and Jim Winestock to
the Board as Independent Non-Executive Directors. Brian has held executive
board positions within a number of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 organisations, most
recently as Group Finance Director of Ladbrokes plc. Prior to joining Ladbrokes
he was Group Finance Director and Deputy Chief Executive of Hilton Group.
Jim Winestock served in a number of senior roles and was a member of the
Management Committee during his career at United Parcel Service, Inc. Most
recently he was Senior Vice President and Director of US Operations and Global
Security with responsibility for all US operations and 360,000 employees.
Chris Surch was appointed to the Board as Group Finance Director on 1 September
2012. Chris joined from Shanks Group plc where he was Group Finance Director.
Prior to that, he held a number of senior financial roles including at Smiths
Group plc and TI Group plc. Together with strong financial leadership, he
brings considerable operational, strategic and international knowledge and
experience of significant business improvement programmes.
On behalf of the Board, I'd like to extend our sincere thanks and gratitude to
our 120,000 employees. They are the backbone of our organisation and our
greatest strength. The engagement, support, and development of all our people
is an important focus for management and vital to delivering our plans for the
future.
The Group remains a strong and profitable business with market leading
positions. During the year we continued to take action to mitigate the effects
of the prolonged economic downturn and to place the business on a firmer
footing to continue to invest for the future. Having comprehensively reviewed
other options, the Board is confident that the proposed capital raising
transaction is the best solution for the Group, to remove the risk of a credit
rating downgrade, right-size the balance sheet and give our management team the
resources necessary to deliver their value-enhancing strategy for the Group.
We are targeting an appropriate, progressive and sustainable dividend policy
with cover of 2.0 to 2.5x in the medium term. In the short term the Board
proposes that no final dividend will be paid in respect of the year to 31 March
2013, nor an interim dividend for the year to 31 March 2014. Payments will
recommence with a final dividend for the year to 31 March 2014, subject to
performance in line with expectations, as a transition to re-establishing a
progressive dividend policy thereafter. While the exact quantum will be
determined at that time, the Board's intent is to pay a transitional final
dividend of up to £50m in the year to 31 March 2014.
I am pleased to announce the fund-raising today, which will not only strengthen
the Group and support its continued growth but also underpin the ability to
remain a dividend paying stock as well as supporting our investment grade
rating. When this project is complete, I intend to step down as Chairman once a
successor has been identified. I have led the business for 27 years, from
start-up to its current position as one of the world's great transport groups,
and I am extremely proud of what we have achieved at FirstGroup in that time. I
shall be sorry to leave, but I'm pleased that this fund-raising will open the
way to the next stage of FirstGroup's development.
Martin Gilbert
Chairman
20 May 2013
* Operating profit referred to throughout this document refers to operating
profit before amortisation charges, ineffectiveness on financial derivatives,
exceptional items, (loss)/profit on disposal of properties and discontinued
operations. EBITDA is underlying operating profit less capital grant
amortisation plus depreciation.
Business summary
Notwithstanding sustained economic weakness we are focused on our objectives of
improved performance and sustainable growth. We have taken a series of
comprehensive actions to address specific issues, reform operating models to
address performance and strengthen our businesses.
* First Student, which faced pressure on operating margins driven by
constraints on school board budgets, continues to respond well to the
recovery programme which is now well established. While there remains work
to be done, we are confident of the prospects to build on the actions we
have taken and we are on track to achieve $100m of annual cost savings from
a more efficient model.
* In First Transit, we continue to focus on our core segments which delivered
strong growth during the year with new contract wins, and consistent with
that strategy we completed the sale of First Support Services, our military
base facility management business, for a gross consideration of US$10.2m.
We have grown to become the largest provider of shuttle bus services at
airports and for universities, an area where we are developing further
opportunities for expansion and focus on technological innovation.
* Our Greyhound division continues to transform its operating model to become
a more flexible and agile business, investing in technology, right sizing
or relocating terminals and modernising the network to offer customers
attractive, affordable and reliable long distance travel. Our unique
national network underpins our success and, as we expand our popular
Greyhound Express service, it underpins our ability to establish
sustainable flows on new routes. Our BoltBus and new YO! Bus services have
seen successful expansion during the year.
* We are making good progress with our programme to transform our UK Bus
business and equip it to deliver sustainable growth in patronage and
revenue. We have repositioned our portfolio of operations with c.£100m of
selected business and asset disposals. As we continue to work through our
plans to improve efficiency by changing the commercial model to be more
responsive locally and create stronger and more effective partnerships with
local stakeholders, we are encouraged by the positive signs in the markets
where our transformation is furthest along.
* In UK Rail, we continue to focus on operating performance across our
existing franchises while delivering major infrastructure and capacity
upgrades in conjunction with our industry partners. We are in discussions
with the Department for Transport (DfT) in respect of contract extensions
for two of our existing franchises, First Great Western and First Capital
Connect. We are poised to take part in the new franchising process as set
out by the DfT and remain committed to retaining a leading position in the
UK rail market, where we can utilise our vast bidding and operational
experience to deliver for customers and taxpayers and provide an economic
return for shareholders.
Capital structure
Our ability to deliver on the potential of all of our businesses depends on the
continued strength of our balance sheet. We have maintained an investment grade
credit rating since 2002, which we believe to be important in terms of
financing, insurance and pensions costs. Although we currently have appropriate
levels of covenant headroom and liquidity, the prolonged economic weakness and
impact of government austerity have weighed on our recent cash generation and,
coupled with the delays to the UK rail franchising programme, meant that we
were unlikely to continue to support investment grade credit rating in the near
term.
We believe that the proposed c.£615m capital raising transaction announced
separately today will remove the constraints of the current balance sheet and
provide a sustainable capital structure going forward, reinforcing our
objective to remain investment grade, increasing flexibility to continue our
business transformation plans already underway and underpin our investment
plans to create long term value.
The Board believes this will:
* remove the constraints of our current balance sheet and provide a
sustainable capital structure going forward
* support our objective to remain investment grade, and avoid the anticipated
additional financing costs of becoming sub-investment grade
* increase flexibility to continue our transformation and investment plans,
to create sustainable long term value
Investment plansand medium term targets
Over the next four years, we intend to invest approximately £1.6 billion in our
divisions to continue funding the operational transformation plans already
underway, which will be financed from our existing cash resources, future cash
generated from operations, and a portion of the proceeds of the capital raising
transaction announced separately today. The key priorities for delivering our
business plans and generating shareholder value over the medium term are as
follows:
* In First Student, to continue to execute the ongoing recovery plan by
improving operational efficiency with a view to targeting double digit
margins in the medium term, including by ultimately driving up contract
retention rates above 90%, taking advantage of opportunities to win new
contracts as state authorities and school boards continue to outsource
their student bus services and returning to a selective acquisition
strategy to enhance growth
* In First Transit, to maintain margins while investing to take advantage of
key outsourcing opportunities, including in the expanding shuttle bus
business (particularly on university campuses and in Canadian oil fields)
* In Greyhound, investing in infrastructure and IT, including new reservation
and ticketing systems, to drive operational efficiencies, facilitate better
yield management and thereby seek to achieve growth in excess of GDP, as we
have done in BoltBus and Greyhound Express. Further capital expenditures
will also be made to renew and refurbish its fleet and continue to fund the
addition of new routes and services.
* In UK Bus, to improve margins to double digit levels in the medium term, by
continuing our depot transformation programme, network redesign plans,
reducing the fleet age into line with sector average, as well as raising
the information provision and smart ticketing capabilities of the business
to support volume growth
* Ensuring our capital strength continues to support the UK Rail division as
it participates in a range of future franchise competitions to seek to
maintain its market leading position.
Following the proposed capital raising transaction, we will target the
following objectives over the next four years:
* increase Group revenue (excluding UK rail) at a faster rate than the
economies we serve, improve margins in First Student and UK Bus to double
digits, and achieve a post-tax ROCE in the range of 10% to 12%
* maintain our investment grade rating and appropriate liquidity and covenant
headroom
* as the business performance improves, to re-establish a progressive
dividend policy to target 2.0 to 2.5x cover
Dividends
The Board recognises that dividends are seen as an important component of
equity returns by many of our shareholders. In the medium term, as the business
performance improves, the Board intends to re-establish a progressive and
sustainable dividend policy to target dividend cover of 2.0 to 2.5 times. In
the short term, the Board intends that:
* no final dividend will be paid in respect of FY 2013
* no interim dividend will be paid in respect of FY 2014
* dividend payments will recommence with a final dividend in FY 2014, subject
to performance in line with business expectations, as a transition to
re-establishing a progressive dividend policy thereafter
* subject to the Board determining the exact amount, a transitional final
dividend of up to £50 million in FY 2014 would be recommended; and
* thereafter, a dividend cover of 2.0 to 2.5x would be targeted.
Operating and financialreview
Group revenue increased by 3.3% to £6,900.9m (2012: £6,678.7m), or 4.5%
excluding the extra week of trading in the non-Rail businesses last year.
Underlying operating profit was £335.4m (2012: £428.5m) reflecting the
previously indicated reductions in UK Bus profits as a result of reduced
Government support for the industry and external cost pressures and lower UK
Rail profits as we entered the new franchise extension period for First
TransPennine Express, at margins closer to the industry average, as well as the
impact of one week less trading in the North American businesses. Statutory
operating profit was £205.7m (2012: £448.0m) reflecting the lower underlying
operating profit and a charge for exceptional items this year compared to a
credit last year largely driven by the UK Bus pension scheme changes.
Underlying basic EPS was 26.9p (2012: 40.0p) and EBITDA was £667.0m (2012: £
742.9m).
The net cash outflow for the year was £74.4m (2012: inflow of £119.2m). The
exchange of contracts for the sale of eight of our London depots occurred just
after the financial year end on 9 April 2013 and had been included in our
expectation of cash flow being broadly neutral for the year. The net debt to
EBITDA ratio was 3.0 times (2012: 2.5 times). The average debt duration at 31
March 2013 was 5.4 years (2012: 5.5 years) and there was £1,215.5m (2012: £
795.8m) of headroom under committed revolver facilities and free cash, prior to
the repayment of the £300m sterling April 2013 bond. During the year a new £
325m bond was issued at an effective rate of 5.49% as part of our long term
funding strategy.
Year to 31 March 20131 Year to 31 March 2012
Revenue Operating Operating Revenue Operating Operating
profit2 margin2 profit2 margin2
Divisional results £m £m % £m £m %
First Student 1,503.1 109.9 7.3 1,567.2 107.1 6.8
First Transit 814.6 49.1 6.0 778.6 55.8 7.2
Greyhound 647.1 52.0 8.0 657.2 50.6 7.7
UK Bus 1,128.2 90.7 8.0 1,157.2 134.4 11.6
UK Rail 2,795.1 63.2 2.3 2,506.1 110.5 4.4
Group3 12.8 (29.5) - 12.4 (29.9) -
Total Group 6,900.9 335.4 4.9 6,678.7 428.5 6.4
North America in US Dollars $m $m % $m $m %
First Student 2,378.6 174.9 7.4 2,497.9 169.5 6.8
First Transit 1,286.8 77.7 6.0 1,242.6 89.1 7.2
Greyhound 1,022.0 81.5 8.0 1,049.3 81.0 7.7
Total North America 4,687.4 334.1 7.1 4,789.8 339.6 7.1
1For all businesses excluding UK Rail this year includes 52 weeks compared to
53 weeks last year.
2Underlying.
3Tram operations, central management and other items.
First Student
Revenue in our First Student division was $2,378.6m or £1,503.1m (2012:
$2,497.9m or £1,567.2m). Adjusting for the extra week last year US Dollar
revenues were 2.8% lower principally due to lost contracts as well as the
impact of Hurricane Sandy, and further severe weather during the winter.
Underlying operating profit was $174.9m or £109.9m (2012: $169.5m or £107.1m)
with incremental savings from our recovery plan more than offsetting the profit
impact of the reduced revenues.
A significant amount of our operations were disrupted by Hurricane Sandy in
late October 2012. The storm, which affected the entire eastern seaboard, parts
of the Midwest and Eastern Canada, affected approximately 130 of our locations
and led to the closure of schools for up to nine days. This adversely impacted
operating profit by approximately $13m and further periods of severe weather in
early 2013 saw a further $8m impact. A number of the lost operating days may
potentially be recovered at the end of the summer term which occurs in our 2013
/14 financial year.
We have made good progress in continuing our recovery programme in First
Student to address performance and strengthen the operating model. Although
there remains significant work to be done, and we remain cautious in respect of
the sustained weakness of the US economy, we are seeing positive results from a
more efficient model, and are on track to achieve our stated annual target of
$100m in savings.
A key milestone in our recovery programme has been the roll out of uniform
practices which are achieving consistency and greater efficiency across our
almost 600 locations. A guide featuring the best practices sourced from across
the division is generating real and tangible benefits. This also gives First
Student a more compelling, efficient and consistently high standard offering.
We are extremely pleased to report that customer satisfaction scores are at the
highest level for four years and the fourth year in a row we have seen a
sustained improvement.
Although state and local finances have stabilised overall, a number of large
states and school districts continue to face substantial funding constraints.
Against that backdrop, our recovery is on plan and we are making progress by
leveraging our existing relationships to expand current operations, for example
in Kansas City, Missouri and the Los Angeles Unified School District. Recent
new contract wins have included competitions in Indian River, New York and a
share shift win in Waukesha, Wisconsin where our winning proposal offered 150
propane fuelled buses and a system of swipe cards that allows parents to track
when students get on and off the bus, which was welcomed by parents and the
school district.
Interest in conversion from in house operations to the private sector remains
high as a result of a drive to improve municipal finances, although we remain
suitably cautious since only a relatively small proportion of these inquiries
result in outsourcing. Despite this, we continue to be very competitive in the
conversion market, and new business starting in September 2012 included eight
conversion contracts totalling more than 450 buses, out of a total amount of
860 new buses commenced during the 2012/13 financial year.
We continue to promote the use of innovative and environmentally friendly
technology, with 134 propane fuelled buses also now in use for Seattle and
Portland Public Schools. Our FOCUS GPS software, which underwent an upgrade in
October 2012, links on board data to back office systems which helps to
eliminate excess mileage and fuel usage and provides customers with access to
real time data. We completed the rollout of the system across our US locations
during the year, as well as beginning our rollout in Canada which will complete
in 2013/14.
Our lean maintenance and engineering practices continue to be adopted,
following the examples set by our eighteen reference workshops across the
business. 92% of our workshops have achieved the initial level of lean
certification. We are actively encouraging our technicians to attain their
National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence qualification and, if 75%
of technicians at each location do so, the workshop will be awarded the highly
regarded Blue Seal award which was accomplished by twelve workshops during the
year. We are consolidating our vehicle and parts purchasing processes and have
developed a much more efficient online ordering system that has been well
received by employees.
The benefits of our transition to a more efficient organisation were
particularly visible at the start of the school year in September. This is
traditionally a challenging time for school bus operators but this year we saw
consistently high levels of operating performance, including continued
improvement in our safety metrics. Our industry leading safety performance is
entrenched in our culture giving us a competitive advantage and forming an
important consideration when bidding for contracts. Illinois, for example,
recently passed legislation adding safety as a criterion, alongside low cost,
for contract award.
We continue to develop plans to increase our charter activity. Amongst charter
business we were awarded this year was a contract to transport staff to Super
Bowl XLVII in February in New Orleans, as well as work with the PGA golf tour
and NASCAR auto racing.
A significant milestone in the year was the celebration of the first student
bus transportation contract in the USA, which began 100 years ago in Newman,
California. A century after this first contract, First Student still serves the
same district.
We are now well positioned to leverage our scale as the market leader and
deliver long term, sustainable growth. Whilst there remains work to be done in
our recovery programme, the actions we have taken and positive results we have
seen so far give us confidence that we will be able to build upon the
competitive advantage we have developed for many years to come.
First Transit
First Transit continues to deliver strong revenue growth from a diverse
portfolio of related businesses. Revenue increased to $1,286.8m or £814.6m
(2012: $1,242.6m or £778.6m). Excluding the extra week last year and the First
Support Services business which has been sold, US Dollar revenues increased by
7.7%. Underlying operating profit was $77.7m or £49.1m (2012: $89.1m or £55.8m)
with the reduction principally due to the agreement to settle a $13.5m historic
legal claim in California.
In March we divested our First Support Services business, which provides
military base operations support and facility management services, to Parsons
for sale proceeds of US$10.2m, allowing First Transit to focus on its core
transportation segments.
First Transit and First Vehicle Services are the leading operators in their
field with an unrivalled reputation for transport and fleet maintenance
expertise. We operate a varied and extensive mix of 340 contracts across almost
40 US States, four Canadian Provinces/Territories and in Puerto Rico and the US
Virgin Islands. We are the largest, or near largest, private operator in each
of our core business segments - fixed route, paratransit, shuttle, transport
call centres and vehicle maintenance services.
The experienced management team have a strong reputation in the transit market,
and it is this established credibility and track record that helps us win new
business and continue to generate efficiencies through our commitment to our
customers who are a mix of private and public transport authorities. We work
collaboratively with our clients as they seek to improve their transit offering
and we look to bring our global expertise and experience of best practice to
those clients looking for transport solutions on any scale.
We continued to develop new business from our strong pipeline of opportunity
during the year. Key contracts won in the fixed route segment including Valley
Metro in Mesa and Tempe, Arizona and expanding our contract with Foothill
Transit in Arcadia, Southern California. In the paratransit segment we saw new
contracts with the Maryland Transit Authority and Washington DC Metropolitan
Transport Authority.
An area of strong growth and focus for us is the shuttle bus market, and we
were awarded contracts at airports across the USA including Detroit and Dallas/
Fort Worth. We extended our market leading university shuttle bus portfolio,
the largest in the USA, with an $8m per annum eight year contract at Auburn
University as well as further new business at the University of Tennessee, the
State University of New York and the University of Alabama. Following last
year's contract win at Yale and existing business at Princeton, we will be
partnering with a further Ivy League university this year at Brown.
College students are early adopters of new technology and we are working with
our university partners to develop smart ticketing and real time passenger
information solutions where possible, including joining with industry leading
information provider Transloc. Experience from our campus shuttles helps us to
extend and develop our offering to our other core businesses.
We continue to work with our clients to promote the latest technological and
environmental innovation and we demonstrate our commitment to our customers by
promoting the DriveCam system, which monitors driving behaviour to provide real
time feedback and coaching data to improve safety and fuel economy. On renewing
our partnership with the University of Buffalo, we worked with them to
introduce a new fleet, powered by biodiesel fuel and including the latest in
clean engine technology to produce near zero emissions. This follows our
introduction of the Austin area's first environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel
cell bus to University of Texas students. The introduction of this bus assists
Austin's Capital Metro in promoting its green initiatives to the community, as
well as a new environmentally friendly form of local transit.
Client relationships are key to our First Transit business and this can prove
important when we seek to use our reputation in one area of First Transit to
win business in another. During the past year, we have secured a new contract
for the New York State Department of Transportation, building on the existing
relationship we already undertook for the same authority. We also continue to
build on the strong relationships we have with companies in Fort McMurray,
Alberta, as we add more contracts to complement the existing work we already
undertake in this non-traditional market and expanding oil industry location.
During the year we also renewed several key contracts, including Houston
Metropolitan Transit Authority's fixed route network, a large fixed route
contract with the city of Phoenix, Arizona, a large commuter and fixed route
operation at the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission in Virginia
and large fixed route contracts in Colorado, Washington State and British
Columbia. Other renewal contracts include paratransit work for NJ Transit
AccessLink, Pierce Transit in Washington State and Chemung County in New York,
as well as shuttle buses for the New York Department of Corrections.
In First Vehicle Services, we were pleased to renew a significant contract this
year with the town of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, to maintain their fleet
of 636 vehicles. First Vehicle Services sets the highest standards in the
industry and has more maintenance workshops with National Institute for
Automotive Service Excellence Blue Seal certification than our competitors,
with around a quarter of our locations certified as such.
Our support for the United States Army's Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS)
program has entered its second year. The PaYS program is a nationwide Army
initiative with corporate partners, offering potential jobs to returning or
retiring soldiers. This relationship has assisted in increasing the number of
veterans placed in First Transit and First Vehicle Services positions
throughout North America by approximately 16%.
First Transit is well placed to use our knowledge and wide ranging experience
to pursue growth opportunities in our core areas, particularly the shuttle bus
segment, going forwards.
Greyhound
Greyhound continues to be affected by the weakness in the sector of the US
economy that it serves and during the year like-for-like revenue growth was
1.1% (2012: 4.1%). Revenue was $1,022.0m or £647.1m (2012: $1,049.3m or £
657.2m) with the reduction principally due to the extra week last year as well
as slimmed down operations in our Canadian business. Underlying operating
profit was $81.5m or £52.0m (2012: $81.0m or £50.6m) with operating
efficiencies and fixed cost savings more than offsetting the reduction in
revenues.
Notwithstanding recent headwinds, coach travel is the fastest growing mode of
intercity transportation in the United States. Greyhound is an iconic business
which is synonymous with affordable travel. The 99-year old business is in a
unique position with the only national network in North America. Our challenge
is to harness the commercial lessons from our smaller, faster growing BoltBus
and Greyhound Express, in the operation of our legacy network.
While Greyhound remains a cyclical business, the actions we have taken over
recent years have enabled us to better position the division to leverage the
benefits of a more flexible and agile operating model. This means that we have
been able to mitigate the sustained softness in economic conditions in North
America. We are making Greyhound a more modern and efficient network as well as
redefining the customer experience.
Our Greyhound Express product continues to go from strength to strength. We
continue to develop these non-stop city to city services and saw passenger
growth of around 10% in Greyhound Express markets during the second half of the
year, as the concept continues to encourage a new passenger demographic and
attract users back to bus travel.
During the year we began operating Greyhound Express in new markets including
California, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Nevada and Delaware as well as Ontario and
British Columbia in Canada. With further rollouts taking place in states where
we already had a presence, the Express network now serves more than 900 city
pairs available in nearly 100 markets. We are building on this momentum and
further expansion is planned in coming months.
Although Greyhound has a national scale, the division also offers distinctive
local products. Our BoltBus service expanded into the Pacific Northwest during
the year, offering customers a viable alternative to Amtrak's Cascades service
in the region and our subsidiary Crucero USA, serving the Hispanic market, also
launched its first direct, non-stop services connecting key locations in
Southern California during the summer. Our Chinatown connection service, YO!
Bus, launched direct service between New York and Philadelphia in December
2012, providing a reliable alternative to Chinatown operators. After seeing
impressive early success from YO! Bus we subsequently extended the service to
Boston in March 2013.
We added 60 new vehicles to our fleet during the year, and we also refurbished
more than 200 vehicles to introduce more modern amenities for our customers. We
have now refurbished more than 540 of our buses.
In April we announced the $100m purchase of a further 220 new buses, the
largest order in the company's recent history. These will be introduced over
the course of 2013 and 2014. All the buses will feature our new look interiors
with on-board amenities including Wi-Fi, power outlets, leather seats,
three-point safety belts and extra legroom, and will be powered by clean
diesel, low emission engines. Building on our experiences in First Student and
First Transit, the new buses will also have the DriveCam video data and driver
feedback system, improving fuel efficiency and lowering emissions. The
introduction of these new vehicles will mean almost all of Greyhound's fleet is
either new or refurbished.
As well as changes to our network and vehicles, we have also been transforming
the way our passengers interact with us. An improved website offers benefits
for customers whilst we are encouraged by the take up of our partnership with
PayNearMe and retailers including 7-Eleven and ACE Cash Express which allows
customers without debit or credit cards to book attractive fares online and pay
by cash in store. This is now our fifth largest sales channel and we are
developing relationships with further partners. We are seeing high usage of our
self service ticket kiosks and are rolling these out across the network, with
ten further locations introduced this year.
We continue to right size or relocate our terminals where appropriate. During
the year we completed the move of all of our Washington, D.C. operations to the
multi-modal hub at the city's Union Station, which allows customers from our
networks to connect seamlessly to other transport modes. We opened a new,
environmentally friendly terminal in Nashville and are continuing work on
further city terminals.
In Canada, our management team have been working with the provincial government
of British Columbia to reduce uneconomic routes, and now that it is almost
complete, we are expecting a return to profitability in 2013/14. Greyhound
Express launched in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia with successful
results.
Customers using Greyhound Package Express have also benefitted from the
introduction of a new shipment management system which allows customers to
track the status of their parcels en route.
UK Bus
Revenue in our UK Bus division was £1,128.2m (2012: £1,157.2m) and
like-for-like passenger revenue growth was 2.4% (2012: 1.6%). Underlying
operating profit was £90.7m (2012: £134.4m) with the reduction, as previously
indicated, principally down to a fall in Government funding available to the
industry as well as external cost pressures, particularly fuel and pension
costs.
In May 2012 we set out our clear and detailed strategy to fix and restore
sustainable growth to the division. Following a detailed review of all of our
businesses we launched comprehensive plans coordinated at a divisional level
but tailored to each of our local operations, focussed around repositioning and
rebalancing the portfolio; improving operating discipline and efficiencies and
driving increased revenue and patronage growth.
Repositioning and rebalancing the portfolio
The vast majority of our bus operations generate good returns or have potential
for significant further improvement. We have taken action to reposition and
rebalance the portfolio in order to concentrate on these areas and throughout
the year we have worked through a targeted disposal programme, selling 14 bus
depots and outstations across the country for a total of almost £100m.
Amongst the disposals of businesses we announced the sale of eight of our
London bus depots in April. Whilst we have been a presence in London for many
years, we have decided to focus our business on the deregulated market outside
of the capital. We have a very constructive relationship with Transport for
London and we will be working closely with them to ensure the transfer to the
new operators goes ahead smoothly.
Improving operating discipline and efficiencies
We are making progress in improving operating discipline across the business in
service quality and delivery through the application of best practices and
standardisation. Since the launch of the programme in early 2012, we have
rolled out upgraded diagnostic systems, improved our engineering and repair
processes and are enhancing our training.
Our programme to transform each of our depots will raise operating performance
and optimise depot processes, leading to greater efficiency. This includes
learning from the best practices that our First Student and Greyhound divisions
have accumulated in recent years. Areas under focus include leadership
development, optimising depot layout and reducing vehicle defects. Early
positive outcomes include a 22% reduction in breakdowns since these initiatives
were launched, and mileage lost due to engineering has significantly reduced in
some areas by up to 50%.
Driving increased revenue and patronage growth
Whilst the Group standardises best practice and provides expertise and
investment across the division, our strategy to drive increased revenue and
patronage growth is focused on developing tailored local solutions that are
most appropriate for each of the areas in which we operate, based on highest
standards we have established at a national level.
Our local management teams are introducing value for money fares structures in
order to stimulate demand. These include better value day and period tickets,
such as `eight days for the price of seven' promotions launched in Aberdeen. In
Manchester we announced a range of fare reductions and on certain routes we
have seen passenger growth of up to 50%.
Our local networks are also being redesigned to deliver volume growth. For
example, in Norwich our new colour coded routes are proving popular amongst
existing customers as well as providing additional impetus to attract new
passengers. First Glasgow launched a wide ranging consultation on SimpliCITY, a
root-and-branch review of its network in the city, and after taking into
account feedback will introduce the revised network on 26 May that is both
simpler and improved for the majority of passengers. We have introduced 200 new
vehicles in the Manchester and West Yorkshire markets and rebranded 750 buses
on our high frequency interurban networks. With strong local route branding and
targeted marketing we have seen up to 3% passenger volume uplift compared to
the remaining network.
We have been working with local authorities to implement schemes awarded money
in the first phase of the DfT's Better Bus Area (BBA) fund last March. For
instance, we have used BBA funds given to the Transport for South Hampshire
coalition of councils to introduce Wi-Fi on all buses operating in the area.
Hybrid buses are being introduced in services across the country, for instance
in our park and ride services in Bath, Leeds and Glasgow. Funding from the
Government's Green Bus Fund has been used to introduce hybrids on routes in
Essex and to Heathrow.
We are developing close partnerships with all local authorities in areas in
which we operate. This will enable us to respond best to their needs as a
reliable partner who can deliver solutions to congestion and help stimulate
economic activity, in alignment with their aims. In Sheffield we are working
closely with South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, Sheffield City
Council and other operators on radically improving bus services in the city,
which has resulted in the DfT awarding the first BBA2 status whereby Government
funding for fuel rebate is devolved back to the city and supplemented by a top
up fund of an additional 20%. This money will be spent as agreed to tackle
specific problems in the city. Our experience shows that partnership is by far
the quickest and most effective way to achieve the changes that bus users wish
to see and which deliver growth.
Following the installation of smartcard enabled ticket machines across our
fleet in England outside London in 2012/13, we are now working on introducing
smartcard applications across our networks. We are party to a host of
multi-operator ticketing schemes, which are all smartcard compatible, and we
are keen to support the introduction of further such arrangements where they do
not currently exist and where a clear market need can be identified.
Further innovation includes fitting Wi-Fi to our new buses as standard, and we
retrofitted Wi-Fi in certain areas, including Lowestoft, during the year. The
Eclipse bus rapid transport network in South Hampshire, built on a former
railway line, has been a great success in its first year of operation.
Passenger numbers have risen steadily, with more than 1.3m journeys made since
the service began while 12% more people now use it than the routes it replaced.
The South Hampshire area was also the pilot for our innovative mobile phone app
which is now live across the country providing up to the minute bus information
for passengers. Over the past year, the excellence and innovation of First's UK
Bus operations have been recognised by various awards. We picked up six
accolades at the UK Bus Awards in categories which included marketing and
community initiatives, whilst our operations in Aberdeen won the team of the
year prize at the Scottish Transport Awards.
We were delighted that around 2,000 of our employees were directly involved in
the positive transport story at the London 2012 Games, as we provided
successful spectator transport for hundreds of thousands of attendees. The new
buses that formed part of our London 2012 offering have now been deployed intoour networks, as part of our £160m investment in 1,000 new vehicles over the
last two years. We followed this up in February with a further order for 464
new buses worth £76m for delivery in 2013/14, with interior designs taking into
account passenger and employee feedback.
We have a strong platform from which to grow in UK Bus. Our networks are the
backbone of the communities where we operate and contribute to vibrant and
sustainable local economies, although the challenging economic environment
continues to affect many of the urban areas in which we are based. There is
still work to do but we are pleased by the progress so far and the early
positive signs in some of our markets.
UK Rail
UK Rail continues to benefit from strong demand with like-for-like passenger
revenue growth of 7.4% (2012: 8.4%). Revenue during the year was £2,795.1m
(2012: £2,506.1m) with the increase due to higher passenger receipts as well as
higher subsidy receipts at First ScotRail principally due to Network Rail
changes which meant that both subsidy receipts and operating costs were £128m
higher than in the preceding year. Underlying operating profit was £63.2m
(2012: £110.5m) reflecting the expected reduction in profits at First
TransPennine Express in the three year extension period at operating margins
closer to the industry average.
We have a diverse rail portfolio encompassing long distance, regional and
commuter operators, and are the largest owning group in the UK with a quarter
of the market. Our highly experienced management team has unrivalled knowledge
in delivering major infrastructure improvements in partnership with
stakeholders. For example, First ScotRail has entered into a new alliance
agreement with Network Rail which is creating a much more efficient working
relationship between the two organisations in order to better align overall
objectives, deliver value for money and increase focus on passenger
requirements. The first major project to be undertaken under this arrangement
was a £12m joint investment to electrify the line between Glasgow Central and
Paisley Canal. This award-winning project was delivered in just four months and
at less than half of the original cost estimate of £28m, as a result of the
effective alliance.
We have a strong track record of investment with over 700 new vehicles
introduced and punctuality and performance increasing across each of our
franchises since we commenced operation.
Our rail companies also played their part in the successful transport operation
for the London 2012 Games, with First Great Western running a shuttle service
connecting to First Games Transport's buses at Slough station for rowing events
at Eton Dorney. First Capital Connect ran over a million extra seats during the
Games, including later trains home after events, and established a successful
24/7 customer support centre which has now become a permanent feature of their
customer service offering.
This year the rail sector has been subject to a great deal of scrutiny
following the cancellation of the DfT's franchising programme. We have the most
experienced bidding team in the industry and our delight in being awarded the
InterCity West Coast franchise in August was matched only by our disappointment
in being notified in October that the DfT had cancelled the competition
following the discovery of significant technical flaws in their franchise award
process. The DfT made it clear that we were in no way at fault, having followed
the due process correctly. We submitted a strong bid, in good faith and in
strict accordance with the DfT's terms. Our bid would have delivered a better
service for West Coast passengers, value for the taxpayer and an appropriate
return for shareholders.
Following various inquiries the DfT announced in January, as part of a new
refranchising schedule, that it was to extend our First Capital Connect and
First Great Western franchises by the 28-week period in the original contracts.
Further extensions of six months for First Capital Connect and 33 months for
First Great Western, as well as ten months for First TransPennine Express, were
announced in March and we are progressing negotiations with the DfT in respect
of these. The publication of the timetable setting out the return to
refranchising is an important development for the industry, enabling the
private sector to continue to provide effective and efficient passenger rail
services with further performance and infrastructure improvements.
During the year the Scottish Government also announced that the First ScotRail
franchise will now be extended to March 2015, from its previous completion date
of November 2014.
As the UK's largest and most experienced rail operator, we remain committed to
maintaining a leading position in the market. We look forward to reviewing the
details of the upcoming franchise competitions, and submitting further high
quality bids that deliver value for passengers, taxpayers and shareholders.
First Capital Connect
We continue to focus on performance at First Capital Connect, where our Public
Performance Measurement (PPM) of reliability and punctuality stands at 88.3% on
a Moving Annual Average (MAA) basis, a reduction of 1.6% from last year. During
the London 2012 Games we recorded our highest-ever PPM score during the
franchise with 94.6%. However, the main reason for the overall reduction has
been significant disruption caused by infrastructure problems, with a number of
incidents relating to the failure of the overhead line equipment supplying
power to our trains during the winter. We are in dialogue with Network Rail
over more effective partnership working going forwards, for example on more
efficient engineering possessions for longer term network improvements.
We continue to work closely with our industry partners on the Thameslink
Programme of major improvement works which will deliver much needed capacity on
the key cross-London route. During the year, a significant highlight was the
resumption of full service between Brighton and Bedford throughout the day,
evening and at weekends following the completion of three and a half years of
engineering work. Major improvements were made with longer 12-car trains
introduced at peak times, later trains and new services.
First Great Western
First Great Western's PPM MAA score stands at 88.9%, a slight decrease on last
year. Severe weather, especially repeated flooding in the West Country, caused
a number of Network Rail infrastructure failures impacting punctuality over a
total of 21 days, and we have been working with them to help overcome these
issues.
During the year we completed the introduction of 48 new carriages as part of
the DfT's High Level Output Specification programme. Refurbishments on the
Class 180 fleet have also allowed us to trial Wi-Fi provision. In the past
three years we have worked with the DfT to secure a total of 90 additional
carriages, adding around ten per cent more space on trains for customers. This
badly needed capacity increase has helped improve the customer experience and
reduced the number of severely crowded trains that First Great Western
operates.
Major infrastructure work including gauge and signalling upgrades continues on
the route, including an £850m improvement package at Reading station to ease
the bottleneck and improve capacity at that key junction. From 2016 the vast
majority of the eastern section of the route will be electrified, providing the
opportunity for cleaner, longer and more reliable trains, and we are working
with the DfT as that project begins.
First ScotRail
First ScotRail continues to perform well with a PPM MAA score of 92.9%,
considerably above the national average. In Passenger Focus's independent
National Passenger Survey (NPS) category of overall customer satisfaction, we
scored 90% in Autumn 2012, an increase on 2011 and five points higher than the
UK average.
We began a £1m investment programme during the year into stations which will
see increased patronage during the 2014 Commonwealth Games. As a result of a
further £1m of Scottish Government funding, free Wi-Fi will be rolled out by
December 2013 at 25 stations across Scotland, and all 38 of First ScotRail's
Class 380 trains will have Wi-Fi by March 2014.
First ScotRail and the Scottish Government are accelerating plans to offer
smartcard season tickets to customers. After a successful initial pilot, an
investment of approximately £2m has seen the installation and/or upgrade of
equipment at 70 stations across the central belt, which will see key routes
begin to accept smartcards.
First TransPennine Express
First TransPennine Express has continued to set and achieve high standards
through 2012/13. Our PPM MAA is above the national average at 91.8%. This
result was achieved despite severe disruption caused by a landslip at a
colliery near Scunthorpe in February causing that part of our route to be
closed for several months. We achieved a customer satisfaction rating of 88% in
the latest NPS, a 14% increase since the start of the franchise, and during the
year we achieved five star accreditation from the British Quality Foundation,
the highest possible award.
First TransPennine Express now has the second highest seat occupancy of any UK
operator and has reduced taxpayer subsidy as a proportion of passenger revenue
by 80% during the life of the franchise. Carrying nearly 25m passengers in 2012
/13, we have increased passenger income growth for the year by 10%, well ahead
of the industry average.
We are investing £60m in 40 new carriages which will form longer trains from
December this year on the Manchester-Scotland routes. The new trains will
provide a 30% uplift in capacity and a 25% increase in luggage space and their
introduction will in turn release carriages to increase capacity on the popular
Manchester-Leeds route.
First Hull Trains
In 2012 First Hull Trains carried almost 750,000 people, a new high, on our 90
services a week between Hull and London King's Cross and our class 180 fleet
has seen improved performance. New initiatives such as M-Tickets, where travel
documents are sent directly to customers' mobile telephones; a new, more
interactive website; and print at home tickets have all improved the journey
experience.
Partly as a result of these initiatives, we scored 95% in overall customer
satisfaction in the latest NPS - a seven per cent improvement on the autumn
2011 survey, and 2% better than the score achieved in spring 2012 compared with
the national average for long distance operators of 89%.
Outlook
With a fundamentally attractive portfolio of businesses and leading positions
in each of our markets, we are focused on delivering outstanding services to
our customers and communities, and harnessing the significant opportunities we
have to create long term sustainable value. We have delivered a resilient
trading performance in line with our expectations and have also achieved most
of the other goals we had set ourselves during the year, including our c.£100m
UK Bus disposal programme and divesting other non-core assets including First
Support Services.
The real long term opportunity for us, however, arises from our business
recovery programmes, particularly in First Student and UK Bus. We have clear
plans in place for all of our divisions, and while there remains significant
work to be done, our confidence continues to grow as a result of the progress
to date.
The proposed c.£615m capital raising transaction we are announcing separately
today will remove the constraints from our balance sheet and enhance our
ability to invest in our businesses going forward. We plan to invest around £
1.6 billion across our five divisions over the next four years to underpin
growth and return our businesses to our target levels of profitability. Through
these actions, combined with our scale and expertise, we are positioning the
business for improved growth and returning it to a profile of consistent
returns and cash generation.
We are targeting an appropriate, progressive and sustainable dividend policy
with cover of 2.0 to 2.5x in the medium term. In the short term the Board
proposes that no final dividend will be paid in respect of the year to 31 March
2013, nor an interim dividend for the year to 31 March 2014. Payments will
recommence with a final dividend for the year to 31 March 2014, subject to
performance in line with expectations, as a transition to re-establishing a
progressive dividend policy thereafter. While the exact quantum will be
determined at that time, the Board's intent is to pay a transitional final
dividend of up to £50m in the year to 31 March 2014.
Exceptional items and amortisation charges 2013 2012
£m £m
Disposals
UK Bus depot sales and closures (19.8) (10.7)
First Transit FSS disposal and exit from (12.6) -
Diego Garcia operations
(32.4) (10.7)
Onerous contracts/impairments
UK Rail First Great Western contract (9.9) -
provision
UK Rail joint venture provision (DSB (5.0) -
First)
First Student onerous contract (2.7) -
(17.6) -
Legal claims
First Student legal claims (19.8) -
First Transit legal settlements (5.9) -
First Transit Diego Garcia insurance claim 6.7 -
(19.0) -
Other
UK Bus Pension Scheme changes - 73.3
UK Rail bid costs (6.0) (10.2)
Competition Commission costs - (1.9)
Other exceptional items - (1.1)
(6.0) 60.1
Total exceptional items (75.0) 49.4
Amortisation charges (52.0) (30.9)
(Loss)/profit on disposal of properties (2.7) 1.0
Operating profit (charge)/credit (129.7) 19.5
Ineffectiveness on financial derivatives (5.5)
(11.0)
(Loss)/profit before tax (135.2) 8.5
Tax credit 45.3 4.4
Loss on disposal of discontinued - (9.2)
operations
Net exceptional items for the year (89.9) 3.7
UK Bus depot sales and closures
UK Bus depot sales and closures relate to measures taken by the Group to
rebalance its portfolio in the UK Bus operations, which included selling or
closing certain operations. Shortly after the end of the year we announced the
agreements to sell all of our London depots with the exception of Dagenham. The
principal charge in 2012/13 represents asset impairments and an onerous
contract provision for the remaining Dagenham depot.
First Transit FSS disposal and exit from Diego Garcia operations
During the year the Group disposed of the First Support Services Division
realising a loss on disposal of £7.7m. In addition operating profit to date of
disposal of £1.0m has also been treated as part of the overall exceptional
charge. The Diego Garcia operations were exited at the end of the year which
resulted in a net exceptional charge of £5.9m.
First Great Western contract provision
The Group recorded a provision in 2010/11 in respect of the UK Rail First Great
Western franchise agreement. This provision reflected the Group's best estimate
of the likely losses on the franchise over the two years to 31 March 2013,
which would arise due to the accelerated write off of assets dedicated to the
First Great Western franchise due to the Group's decision not to exercise its
option to extend the franchise agreement for a further three years beyond the
original franchise end date. The Group recorded a further provision of £9.9m in
2012/13 due to incremental losses following the DfT exercising their option to
extend the franchise by a further seven rail periods to October 2013.
UK Rail joint venture provision
The carrying value of £5.0m of the investment in DSBFirst, a joint venture with
a Danish rail operator, was fully written-off during the year as current and
projected trading indicates that there will be no recovery of this amount at
the end of the franchise.
First Student onerous contract
During the year the Group provided a further £2.7m against a loss-making
contract that was taken on as part of the Laidlaw acquisition undertakings in
2007. This contract is due to expire early in the year to 31 March 2014.
First Student legal claims
During the year, the Group incurred £2.6m of legal costs in defending old
contractual claims and other litigations. In addition, the Group provided £
17.2m to cover the estimated potential settlement amounts on certain of these
historical claims.
First Transit legal settlements
The Group settled certain historical legal claims during the year principally a
contractual dispute from 2009. The Group treated this cost as exceptional due
to the size and age of the claims. The Group recognised an exceptional charge
of £5.9m in respect of these settlements.
First Transit Diego Garciainsurance claim
The Group settled a historical insurance claim in relation to the DG21 contract
in 2012/13 and recognised exceptional income of £6.7m.
UK Bus Pension Scheme changes
UK Bus Pension Scheme changes relate to measures the Group took to mitigate the
risk of the pension schemes covering UK Bus employees. As a result of these
changes, future pension liabilities of the Group decreased. In 2011/12, the
Group linked pension increases to consumer price inflation ("CPI") rather than
retail price inflation ("RPI"), which usually shows a higher rate of inflation,
and also introduced a pensionable pay cap, along with lower pension accrual
rates. As a result of these changes, future pension liabilities of the Group
decreased in 2011/12, and the Group realised a one-off exceptional gain of £
73.3m.
UK Rail bid costs
The Group's net UK Rail bid costs during the year represented franchise bid
costs for all bids, less amounts recovered or recoverable from the DfT in
respect of the InterCity West Coast franchise bid. The Group incurred UK Rail
bid costs in both 2012/13 and 2011/12 in connection with the InterCity West
Coast franchise bid as well as bids for Great Western, Thameslink and Essex
Thameside rail franchises.
Competition Commission costs
Competition Commission costs relate to costs incurred by the Group in 2011/12
in responding to an investigation by the CC into the UK local bus market. The
CC issued their final report in December 2011.
Other exceptional items
Other exceptional items include principally costs incurred in effecting the
changes to the UK Bus Pension Scheme in 2011/12 described above.
Amortisation charges
The charge for the year was £52.0m (2012: £30.9m) with the increase mainly due
to a higher level of contract amortisation at First Student as a result of a
reassessment during the year of the remaining useful economic lives of the
contracts acquired with the Laidlaw acquisition. Previously these contracts
were being amortised over 20 years but are now being amortised over ten years.
As a result of this, the income statement charge increased by £24.8m during the
year.
(Loss)/profit on disposal of properties
During the year the Group realised £9.7m (2012: £40.3m) on the disposal of
selected properties predominantly in Greyhound and UK Bus operations. These
resulted in a net loss on disposal of £2.7m (2012: profit £1.0m).
Ineffectiveness on financial derivatives
Due to the ineffective element and undesignated fair value movements on
financial derivatives there was a £5.5m non-cash charge (2012: £11.0m) to the
income statement during the year. The principal component of this non-cash
charge relates to fixed interest rate swaps which do not qualify for hedge
accounting but do provide a cash flow hedge against variable rate debt from
2013 to 2015.
Tax on exceptional items and amortisation charges
The tax credit as a result of these exceptional items was £43.3m (2012: £0.4m).
In addition there was a one-off deferred tax credit of £2.0m (2012: £4.0m) as a
result of the reduction in the UK corporation tax rate from 24% to 23% (2012:
26% to 24%).
Finance Costs And Investment Income
Net finance costs, before exceptional items, were £163.0m (2012: £157.1m) with
the increase principally due to the issuance of a new £325m 10 year bond in
November 2012.
Profit Before Tax
Underlying profit before tax was £172.4m (2012: £271.4m) with the decrease due
principally to lower underlying operating profits. An overall charge of £135.2m
(2012: £8.5m credit) for exceptional items and amortisation charges resulted in
statutory profit before tax of £37.2m (2012: £279.9m).
Tax
The tax charge, on underlying profit before tax, for the year was £34.7m (2012:
£54.5m) representing an effective rate of 20.1% (2012: 20.1%). There was a tax
credit of £43.3m (2012: £0.4m) relating to amortisation charges and exceptional
items. There was also a one-off credit adjustment of £2.0m (2012: £4.0m) to the
UK deferred tax liability as a result of the reduction in the UK corporation
tax rate from 24% to 23% (2012: 26% to 24%) which will apply from April 2013.
This resulted in a total tax credit of £10.6m (2012: charge of £50.1m) on
continuing operations.
The actual tax paid during the year was £6.3m (2012: £17.7m). North American
cash tax remains low due to tax losses brought forward and tax depreciation in
excess of book depreciation. We expect the North American cash tax rate to
remain low for the near term. The UK cash tax for the year was lower than last
year principally due to lower profits in the Group's UK businesses.
Discontinued Operations
In September 2011 a loss on disposal of £9.2m arose on the sale of FirstGroup
Deutschland GmbH representing gross consideration of £5.5m less the carrying
value of net assets, including goodwill, and transaction costs. This, as well
as the operating loss after tax to the date of disposal of £0.3m, was
classified within discontinued operations in the consolidated income statement
in 2011/12.
Dividends
The interim dividend of 7.62p (2012: 7.62p) per share was paid during the year
and amounted to £36.7m (2012: £36.6m). The Board has decided not to pay a final
dividend.
EPS
The underlying basic EPS was 26.9p (2012: 40.0p), a reduction of 33%. Basic EPS
was 7.3p (2012: 42.7p), a decrease of 83% principally due to lower underlying
results and higher net exceptional items compared to last year.
EBITDA
EBITDA by division is set out below:
Year to 31 March 20131 Year to 31 March 2012
Revenue EBITDA2 EBITDA2 Revenue EBITDA2 EBITDA2
£m £m % £m £m %
First Student 1,503.1 258.8 17.2 1,567.2 255.8 16.3
First Transit 814.6 60.0 7.4 778.6 8.4
65.3
Greyhound 647.1 80.9 12.5 12.2
657.2 80.1
UK Bus 1,128.2 160.3 14.2 1,157.2 17.9
207.1
UK Rail 2,795.1 135.6 4.9 2,506.1 6.5
163.5
Group 12.8 (28.6) - 12.4 (28.9) -
Total Group 6,900.9 667.0 9.7 6,678.7 11.1
742.9
North America in US Dollars $m $m % $m $m %
First Student 2,378.6 409.9 17.2 2,497.9 406.9 16.3
First Transit 1,286.8 94.8 7.4 1,242.6 104.2 8.4
Greyhound 1,022.0 127.5 12.5 1,049.3 128.0 12.2
Total North America 4,687.4 632.2 13.5 4,789.8 639.1 13.3
1For all businesses excluding UK Rail this year includes 52 weeks compared to
53 weeks last year.
2Underlying operating profit less capital grant amortisation plus depreciation.
Cash Flow
The net cash outflow for the year was £74.4m (2012: inflow £119.2m). This
contributed to a net debt increase of £141.6m (2012: reduction £111.9m) as
detailed below:
Year to Year to
31 March 31 March
2013 2012
£m £m
EBITDA (including discontinued operations) 667.0
742.6
Exceptional items (75.0) 49.4
Impairment charge 13.3 -
Other non-cash income statement charges 9.6 9.8
Working capital excluding FGW provision movement (6.8) 20.5
Working capital - FGW provision movement (23.0) 48.7
FGW provision movement - (48.7)
Movement in other provisions (12.2) (29.1)
Pension payments in excess of income statement (94.0) (87.1)
charge
Non-cash RPI to CPI pension gain - (73.3)
Cash generated by operations 478.9
632.8
Capital expenditure (338.1) (293.6)
Proceeds from disposal of property, plant & 14.7 57.7
equipment
Interest and tax (144.4) (155.4)
Dividends payable to Group shareholders (114.0) (108.8)
Dividends payable to non-controlling minority (10.7) (19.0)
shareholders
Proceeds from sale of businesses 39.2
5.5
Net cash (outflow)/ inflow (74.4) 119.2
Foreign exchange movements (63.1)
(7.7)
Other non-cash movements in relation to financial (4.1) 0.4
instruments
Movement in net debt in year (141.6)
111.9
The decrease in cash flow compared to last year was primarily due to:
* EBITDA of £667.0m was £75.6m lower than last year.
* Higher net exceptional items charges of £124.4m.
* Working capital excluding FGW provision was £27.3m lower than last year
principally due to the reversal of cost accruals created for the additional
week of trading last year in the non-Rail businesses.
* Working capital FGW provision movement outflow of £23.0m being the £32.9m
utilisation for the operating losses in the year partly offset by the £9.9m
increase in the provision due to incremental losses following the DfT
exercising the option to extend the franchise by a further seven rail
periods.
* Higher pension payments in excess of income statement charge of £6.9m
principally due to additional deficit contributions in Greyhound.
* Higher capital expenditure primarily reflecting further investment in UK
Bus and First Student.
* Lower disposal proceeds of £43.0m with the reduction due to the sale of
several Greyhound properties last year the largest of which was in
Washington DC.
* Higher dividend payments to Group shareholders of £5.2m.
Partly offset by:
* The impact of the 2012/13 asset impairments in relation to the Dagenham
depot.
* Movements in other provisions favourable by £16.9m primarily due to the
additional First Student and First Transit legal claims provided for in the
year but not paid out during the year.
* The impact of last year's one-off non-cash benefit of £73.3m in relation to
the UK Bus pension scheme changes.
* Lower tax and interest payments of £11.0m principally due to lower UK tax
payments as a result of lower profits in the UK businesses and slightly
lower interest rates compared to last year.
* Lower dividends payable to non-controlling minority shareholders primarily
due to lower First TransPennine Express profits in UK Rail.
* Higher proceeds from sale of business of £33.7m due to the impact of the UK
Bus depot sales (primarily Wigan & Northumberland Park) and the sale of FSS
in First Transit.
Capital Expenditure
Cash capital expenditure was £338.1m (2012: £293.6m) and comprised First
Student £127.7m (2012: £115.6m), First Transit £18.0m (2012: £31.9m), Greyhound
£51.3m (2012: £44.1m), UK Bus £72.4m (2012: £33.6m), UK Rail £66.1m (2012: £
63.4m) and Group items £2.6m (2012: £5.0m).
In addition during the year we entered into operating leases for passenger
carrying vehicles in UK Bus and First Transit with a capital values of £21.6m
(2012: £43.4m) and £12.5m (2012: £nil) respectively.
Gross capital investment was £404.3m (2012: £366.9m) and comprised First
Student £150.8m (2012: £135.6m), First Transit £30.5m (2012: £29.7m), Greyhound
£51.3m (2012: £44.2m), UK Bus £103.0m (2012: £88.5m), UK Rail £63.9m (2012: £
64.5m) and Group items £4.8m (2012: £4.4m).
Funding And Risk Management
The Group continues to have strong liquidity. At 31 March there was £1,215.5m
(2012: £795.8m) of committed headroom and free cash comprising £821.6m (2012: £
631.8m) of headroom under the committed revolving bank facility and free cash
balances of £393.9m (2012: £164.0m). Largely due to seasonality in the North
American school bus business, committed headroom typically reduces during the
financial year up to October and increases thereafter. Treasury policy requires
a minimum of £250m of committed headroom at all times.
After the end of the year, the 2013 £300m bond was repaid in full, as planned.
The Group's main revolving bank facility expires in December 2015. The average
debt maturity was 5.4 years (2012: 5.5 years).
The Group does not enter into speculative financial transactions and uses only
authorised financial instruments for certain risk management purposes only.
Interest rate risk
The Group reduces exposure by using a combination of fixed rate debt and
interest rate derivatives to achieve an overall fixed rate position over the
medium-term of more than 75% of net debt. At 31 March 2013 100% (2012: 100%) of
net debt was fixed and in excess of 81% of net debt is fixed for the next two
years.
Fuel price risk
We manage the commodity price risk on fuel through a progressive forward
hedging policy.
In the UK, 90% of crude oil costs were hedged at an average rate of $102 per
barrel during the year. At the end of the year we have hedged 85% of our "at
risk" UK crude requirements for the year to 31 March 2014 (1.9m barrels p.a.)
at $105 per barrel and 33% of our requirements for the year to 31 March 2015 at
$99 per barrel.
In North America 69% of crude oil costs were hedged at an average rate of $94
per barrel during the year. At the end of the year we have hedged 69% of the
"at risk" volume for the year to 31 March 2014 (1.6m barrels p.a.) at $93 per
barrel. In addition we have hedged 37% of "at risk" volumes for the year to 31
March 2015 at $89 per barrel.
Foreign currency risk
Group policies on foreign currency risk affecting cash flow, profits and net
assets are maintained to minimise exposures to the Group by using a combination
of natural hedge positions and derivative instruments where appropriate.
Translation risk relating to US Dollar earnings arising in the US is largely
offset by US Dollar denominated costs incurred in the UK, principally UK fuel
costs, US Dollar interest and tax costs so that exposure to EPS on a year to
year basis is not significant.
With regard to balance sheet translation risk, the Group hedges part of its
exposure to the impact of exchange rate movements on translation of foreign
currency net assets by holding currency swaps and net borrowings in foreign
currencies. At 31 March 2013 foreign currency net assets were 39% (2012: 47%)
hedged.
Net Debt
The Group's net debt at 31 March 2013 was £1,979.1m (2012: £1,837.5m) and
comprised:
31 March 31 March
2013 2012
Fixed Variable Total Total
Analysis of net debt £m £m £m £m
Sterling bond (2013)1 299.4 - 299.4 298.5
Sterling bond (2018)2 343.0 - 343.0 325.1
Sterling bond (2019)1 - 249.6 249.6 249.4
Sterling bond (2021)3 339.0 - 339.0 331.6
Sterling bond (2022)1 319.1 - 319.1 -
Sterling bond (2024)1 199.5 - 199.5 199.0
US Dollar bank loans - 358.1 358.1 369.7
Canadian Dollar bank loans - 15.5 15.5 113.9
Euro and other bank loans - 11.8 11.8 11.7
HP contracts and finance leases 330.4 87.8 418.2 335.3
Senior unsecured loan notes 98.3 - 98.3 93.3
Loan notes 8.7 1.0 9.7 9.7
Interest rate swaps 411.2 (411.2) -
-
Gross Debt Excluding Accrued Interest 2,348.6 312.6 2,661.2 2,337.2
Cash (393.9) (164.0)
UK Rail ring-fenced cash and deposits (273.8) (323.2)
Other ring-fenced cash and deposits (14.4) (12.5)
Net Debt Excluding Accrued Interest 1,979.1 1,837.5
1 excludes accrued interest
2 stated excluding accrued interest, swapped to US Dollars and adjusted for
movements on associated derivatives
3 stated excluding accrued interest, partially swapped to US Dollars and
adjusted for movements on associated derivatives
Under the terms of the Rail franchise agreements, cash can only be distributed
by these subsidiaries up to the lower of the amount of their retained profits
or the amount determined by prescribed liquidity ratios. The ring-fenced cash
represents cash which is not available for distribution and any additional
amounts required to satisfy the liquidity ratios at the balance sheet date.
Shares In Issue
As at 31 March 2013 there were 481.8m shares in issue (2012: 481.6m), excluding
treasury shares and own shares held in trust for employees of 0.3m (2012:
0.5m). The weighted average number of shares in issue for the purpose of basic
EPS calculations (excluding treasury shares and own shares held in trust for
employees) was 481.7m (2012: 481.4m).
Balance Sheet
Net assets have decreased by £61.7m since the start of the year. The principal
reasons for this are actuarial losses on defined benefit pension schemes (net
of deferred tax) of £48.7m, dividends payments of £124.5m, unfavourable hedging
reserve movements (net of deferred tax) of £45.1m, partly offset by favourable
translation reserve movements of £103.2m and the retained profit for the year
of £47.8m.
Goodwill
The carrying value (net assets including goodwill but excluding intercompany
balances) of each cash generating unit (CGU) was tested for impairment during
the year and there continues to be sufficient headroom in all of the CGUs. The
First Student recovery plan is progressing in line with expectations and as a
result the headroom on this business has increased modestly compared to last
year.
Assets Held For Sale
These comprise principally the assets of the eight London depots which we
announced the disposal of on 9 April 2013.
Foreign Exchange
The most significant exchange rates to Sterling for the Group are as follows:
Year to 31 March Year to 31 March
2013 2012
Closing Effective Closing Effective
rate rate rate Rate
US Dollar 1.52 1.58
1.60 1.59
Canadian Dollar 1.55 1.59
1.60 1.59
The US Dollar rate was slightly lower in the year to 31 March 2013 compared to
last year.
Pensions
The Group has updated its pension assumptions as at 31 March 2013 for the
defined benefit schemes in the UK and North America. The net pension deficit of
£268m at the beginning of the year has decreased to £248m at the end of the
year principally due to better actual returns on assets partly offset by lower
discount rates and higher inflation rates.
The main factors that influence the balance sheet position for pensions and the
sensitivities to their movement at 31 March 2013 are set out below:
Movement Impact
Discount rate +0.1% Reduce deficit by £
33m
Inflation +0.1% Increase deficit by £
23m
The changes to the Accounting Standard IAS 19 will apply from 2013/14 onwards
and will have significant impact on certain profit measures including operating
profit and EPS. We estimate that the new rules would reduce operating profit in
the current year as follows:
2012/13
£m
UK Bus (37)
UK Rail (25)
Greyhound 2
Total (60)
The changes above have no cash impact and do not affect the Group's banking
covenants as these are measured on a constant accounting basis.
SEASONALITY
The First Student business generates lower revenues and profits in the first
half of the year than in the second half of the year as the school summer
holidays fall into the first half. Greyhound operating profits are typically
higher in the first half of the year due to demand being strongest in the
summer months.
GOING CONCERN
The Group has established a strong balanced portfolio of businesses with
approximately 50% of Group revenues secured under medium term contracts with
government agencies and other large organisations in the UK and North America.
The Group has a diversified funding structure with average debt duration at 31
March 2013 of 5.4 years (2012: 5.5 years) and which is largely represented by a
medium-term to committed long term unsecured bond debt and finance leases. The
Group has a $1,250m committed revolving banking facility of which $1,113m
(2012: $1,011) was undrawn at the year end. This facility expires in December
2015.
The Directors have carried out a detailed review of the Group's budget for the
year to 31 March 2014 and medium-term plans, with due regard for the risks and
uncertainties to which the Group is exposed, the uncertain economic climate and
the impact that this could have on trading performance. Based on this review,
the Directors believe that the Company and the Group have adequate resources to
continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, the
financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.
Tim O'Toole
Chief Executive
Chris Surch
Group Finance Director
20 May 2013
Consolidated income
statement
For the year ended 31
March
20131 2012
Underlying Underlying
results2 Adjustments3 Total results2 Adjustments3 Total
Notes £m £m £m £m £m £m
Continuing operations
Revenue 6,900.9 - 6,900.9 6,678.7 - 6,678.7
Operating costs before
(loss)/profit on (6,565.5) (127.0) (6,692.5) (6,250.2) 18.5 (6,231.7)
disposal of properties
Operating profit before
(loss)/profit on 335.4 (127.0) 208.4 428.5 18.5 447.0
disposal of properties
Amortisation charges - (52.0) (52.0) - (30.9) (30.9)
Exceptional items - (75.0) (75.0) - 49.4 49.4
- (127.0) (127.0) - 18.5 18.5
(Loss)/profit on - (2.7) (2.7) - 1.0 1.0
disposal of properties
Operating profit 335.4 (129.7) 205.7 428.5 19.5 448.0
Investment income 1.8 - 1.8 2.0 - 2.0
Finance costs (164.8) (5.5) (170.3) (159.1) (11.0) (170.1)
Profit before tax 172.4 (135.2) 37.2 271.4 8.5 279.9
Tax (34.7) 45.3 10.6 (54.5) 4.4 (50.1)
Profit for the yearfrom
continuing operations 137.7 (89.9) 47.8 216.9 12.9 229.8
Discontinued operations
Loss for the year from 3 - - - (0.3) (9.2) (9.5)
discontinued operations
Profit for the year 137.7 (89.9) 47.8 216.6 3.7 220.3
Attributable to:
Equity holders of the 129.4 (94.4) 35.0 192.3 3.9 196.2
parent
Non-controlling 8.3 4.5 12.8 24.3 (0.2) 24.1
interests
137.7 (89.9) 47.8 216.6 3.7 220.3
Earnings per share
Continuing operations
Basic 4 26.9p (19.6)p 7.3p 40.0p 2.7p 42.7p
Diluted 4 26.7p (19.5)p 7.2p 39.8p 2.7p 42.5p
Continuing and
discontinued operations
Basic 4 26.9p (19.6)p 7.3p 39.9p 0.9p 40.8p
Diluted 4 26.7p (19.5)p 7.2p 39.7p 0.8p 40.5p
Dividends of £114.0m (2012: £108.8m) were paid during the year. Dividends of £
nil (2012: £77.3m) are proposed for approval in respect of the year.
1For all businesses excluding UK Rail this year includes 52 weeks compared to
53 weeks last year.
2Underlying trading results before items noted in 3 below.
3Amortisation charges, ineffectiveness on financial derivatives, exceptional
items, (loss)/profit on disposal of properties and discontinued operations and
tax thereon.
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
Year ended 31 March
2013 2012
£m £m
Profit for the year 47.8 220.3
Other comprehensive income/(expense)
Derivative hedging instrument movements (52.7) (36.1)
Deferred tax on derivative hedging instrument 7.6 13.2
movements
Exchange differences on translation of foreign 103.2 (10.9)
operations
Actuarial losses on defined benefit pension schemes (63.1) (185.8)
Deferred tax on actuarial losses on defined benefit 14.4 51.8
pension schemes
Other comprehensive income/(expense)for the year 9.4 (167.8)
Total comprehensive income for the year 57.2 52.5
Attributable to:
Equity holders of the parent 44.4 28.4
Non-controlling interests 12.8 24.1
57.2 52.5
Consolidated balance
sheet
Year ended 31 March
2013 2012 2011
Notes £m £m £m
Non-current assets
Goodwill 5 1,665.8 1,599.3 1,608.0
Other intangible 6 281.8 318.8 348.6
assets
Property, plant and 7 1,977.6 2,006.3 2,082.9
equipment
Deferred tax assets 15 53.2 43.3 30.0
Retirement benefit 15.4 25.2 30.7
assets
Derivative financial 14 63.3 72.6 58.1
instruments
Investments 3.2 7.2 3.2
4,060.3 4,072.7 4,161.5
Current assets
Inventories 8 79.9 91.0 91.4
Trade and other 9 641.0 601.9 555.5
receivables
Cash and cash 682.1 499.7 388.0
equivalents
Assets held for sale 44.7 3.7 4.6
Derivative financial 14 23.3 43.5 65.1
instruments
1,471.0 1,239.8 1,104.6
Total assets 5,531.3 5,312.5 5,266.1
Current liabilities
Trade and other 10 1,250.7 1,261.0 1,129.9
payables
Tax liabilities 28.7 21.8 49.0
Financial - bank loans 11 - 69.3 93.5
liabilities
- bonds 11 378.6 73.6 73.3
- obligations under
HP contracts and 12 62.7 52.4 42.8
finance leases
Derivative financial 14 64.7 17.1 38.5
instruments
1,785.4 1,495.2 1,427.0
Net current 314.4 255.4 322.4
liabilities
Non-current
liabilities
Financial - bank loans 11 385.4 426.0 554.9
liabilities
- bonds 11 1,468.5 1,441.0 1,417.1
- obligations under
HP contracts and 12 355.5 282.9 209.1
finance leases
- loan notes 13 9.7 9.7 9.7
- senior unsecured 11 98.3 93.3 -
loan notes
Derivative financial 14 21.7 50.1 29.7
instruments
Retirement benefit 263.2 293.1 273.9
liabilities
Deferred tax 15 63.4 97.7 93.0
liabilities
Provisions 16 260.9 242.5 300.8
2,926.6 2,936.3 2,888.2
Total liabilities 4,712.0 4,431.5 4,315.2
Net assets 819.3 881.0 950.9
Equity
Share capital 17 24.1 24.1 24.1
Share premium 676.4 676.4 676.4
Hedging reserve (32.6) 12.5 35.4
Other reserves 4.6 4.6 4.6
Own shares (1.1) (1.1) (5.0)
Translation reserve 248.9 145.7 156.6
Retained earnings (125.7) (3.6) 41.5
Equity attributable
to equity holders of 794.6 858.6 933.6
the parent
Non-controlling 24.7 22.4 17.3
interests
Total equity 819.3 881.0 950.9
Consolidated
statementof
changes in
equity
Non-controlling
Share Share Hedging Other Own Translation Retained interests Total
capital premium reserve reserves shares reserve earnings Total equity
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
Balance at 1 24.1 676.4 35.4 4.6 (5.0) 156.6 41.5 933.6 17.3 950.9
April 2011
Total
comprehensive - - (22.9) - - (10.9) 62.2 28.4 24.1 52.5
income for
the year
Dividends - - - - - - (108.8) (108.8) (19.0) (127.8)
paid
Movement in - - - - 3.9 - (3.9) - - -
EBT and
treasury
shares
Share-based - - - - - - 6.0 6.0 - 6.0
payments
Deferred tax
on - - - - - - (0.6) (0.6) - (0.6)
share-based
payments
Balance at 31 24.1 676.4 12.5 4.6 (1.1) 145.7 (3.6) 858.6 22.4 881.0
March 2012
Total
comprehensive - - (45.1) - - 103.2 (13.7) 44.4 12.8 57.2
income for
the year
Dividends - - - - - - (114.0) (114.0) (10.5) (124.5)
paid
Share-based - - - - - - 5.6 5.6 - 5.6
payments
Balance at 31 24.1 676.4 (32.6) 4.6 (1.1) 248.9 (125.7) 794.6 24.7 819.3
March 2013
Consolidated cash flow statement
Year ended 31 March
2013 2012
Note £m £m
Net cash from operating activities 18 332.7 475.4
Investing activities
Interest received 1.8 2.0
Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and 14.7 57.7
equipment
Purchases of property, plant and equipment (213.1) (170.9)
Disposal of subsidiary/business 39.2 5.5
Acquisition of businesses - (3.4)
Net cash used in investing activities (157.4) (109.1)
Financing activities
Dividends paid (114.0) (108.8)
Dividends paid to non-controlling shareholders (10.7) (19.0)
Proceeds from bond issues 325.0 -
Proceeds from senior unsecured loan notes - 90.2
Drawdowns from bank facilities 63.3 2.5
Repayment of bank debt (197.8) (179.8)
Repayments under HP contracts and finance (55.8) (35.2)
leases
Fees for bank facility amendments and bond (6.2) (2.1)
issues
Net cash flow from financing activities 3.8 (252.2)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 179.1 114.1
before foreign exchange movements
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 499.7 388.0
Foreign exchange movements 3.3 (2.4)
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year per 682.1 499.7
consolidated balance sheet
Cash and cash equivalents are included within current assets on the
consolidated balance sheet.
Note to the consolidated cash flow statement -
reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in
net debt
2013 2012
£m £m
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents in year 179.1 114.1
(Increase)/decrease in debt and finance leases (134.7) 122.3
Inception of new HP contracts and finance leases (125.0) (119.3)
Fees capitalised against bank facilities and bond 6.2 2.1
issues
Net cash flow (74.4) 119.2
Foreign exchange movements (63.1) (7.7)
Other non-cash movements in relation to financial (4.1) 0.4
instruments
Movement in net debt in year (141.6) 111.9
Net debt at beginning of year (1,837.5) (1,949.4)
Net debt at end of year (1,979.1) (1,837.5)
Net debt includes the value of derivatives in connection with the bonds
maturing in 2018, 2019 and 2021 and excludes all accrued interest. These bonds
are included in non-current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet.
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
1 GENERAL INFORMATION
The financial information set out above does not constitute the Company's
Statutory Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2013 or 2012, but is derived
from those accounts. Statutory Accounts for 2012 have been delivered to the
Registrar of Companies and those for 2013 will be delivered following the
Company's Annual General Meeting. The auditors have reported on both sets of
account; their reports were unqualified and did not contain statements under
section 498 (2), (3) or (4) of the Companies Act 2006.
Whilst the financial information included in this preliminary announcement has
been computed in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards
(IFRSs), this announcement does not in itself contain sufficient information to
comply with IFRSs. The financial information has been prepared on the basis of
the accounting policies as set out in the Statutory Accounts for 2012.
Copies of the Statutory Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2013 will be
available to all shareholders in June and will also be available thereafter at
the Registered Office of the Company at 395 King Street, Aberdeen, AB24 5RP.
2 BUSINESS SEGMENTS INFORMATION
For management purposes, the Group is organised into five operating divisions -
First Student, First Transit, Greyhound, UK Bus and UK Rail. These divisions
are managed separately in line with the differing services that they provide
and the geographical markets which they operate in. The principal activities of
these divisions are described in the operating and financial review.
The segment results for the year to 31 March 2013 are as follows:
First First Group
Student Transit Greyhound UK Bus UK Rail Items1 Total2
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m
Revenue continuing 1,503.1 814.6 647.1 1,128.2 2,795.1 12.8 6,900.9
operations
EBITDA³ 258.8 60.0 80.9 160.3 135.6 (28.6) 667.0
Depreciation (148.9) (10.9) (28.9) (70.1) (105.0) (0.9) (364.7)
Capital grant - - - 0.5 32.6 - 33.1
amortisation
Segment results³ 109.9 49.1 52.0 90.7 63.2 (29.5) 335.4
Amortisation charges (43.1) (3.9) (3.1) - (1.9) - (52.0)
Exceptional items (22.5) (11.8) - (19.8) (20.9) - (75.0)
(Loss)/profit on 0.2 - (0.2) (2.7) - - (2.7)
disposal of properties
Operating profit4 44.5 33.4` 48.7 68.2 40.4 (29.5) 205.7
Investment income 1.8
Finance costs (164.8)
Ineffectiveness on (5.5)
financial derivatives
Profit before tax 37.2
Tax 10.6
Profit after tax 47.8
1Group items comprise Tram operations, central management and other items.
2For all UK Business excluding UK Rail this year includes 52 weeks compared to
53 weeks last year.
3Underlying.
4Although the Segmental results are used by the management to measure
performance we have also disclosed Statutory operating profit by operating
division for completeness.
2. BUSINESS SEGMENTS INFORMATION continued
The segment results for the year to 31 March 2012 are as follows:
First First Group
Student Transit Greyhound UK Bus UK Rail Items1 Total2
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m
Revenue 1,567.2 778.6 657.2 1,157.2 2,506.1 17.7 6,684.0
Discontinued operations - - - - - (5.3) (5.3)
Revenue continuing 1,567.2 778.6 657.2 1,157.2 2,506.1 12.4 6,678.7
operations
EBITDA3 255.8 65.3 80.1 207.1 163.5 (28.9) 742.9
Depreciation (148.7) (9.5) (29.5) (73.2) (66.2) (1.0) (328.1)
Capital grant - - - 0.5 13.2 - 13.7
amortisation
Segment results3 107.1 55.8 50.6 134.4 110.5 (29.9) 428.5
Amortisation charges (20.1) (4.3) (3.1) - (3.4) - (30.9)
Exceptional items - - - 60.7 (10.2) (1.1) 49.4
Profit/(loss) on (0.3) - 5.0 (3.7) - - 1.0
disposal of properties
Operating profit4 86.7 51.5 52.5 191.4 96.9 (31.0) 448.0
Investment income 2.0
Finance costs (159.1)
Ineffectiveness on (11.0)
financial derivatives
Profit before tax 279.9
Tax (50.1)
Profitfor the period
from continuing 229.8
operations
Discontinued operations (9.5)
Profit after tax and 220.3
discontinued operations
1Group items comprise Tram operations, central management and other items.
2For all businesses excluding UK Rail this year includes 53 weeks compared to
52 weeks last year.
3Underlying.
4Although the Segmental results are used by the management to measure
performance we have also disclosed Statutory operating profit by operating
division for completeness.
3 DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS
On 30 September 2011 the Group disposed of FirstGroup Deutschland GmbH. As a
consequence the result of this business has been classified as discontinued
operations, as detailed below.
2013 2012
£m £m
Revenue - 5.3
Operating costs - (5.6)
Loss before tax - (0.3)
Attributable tax expense - -
Loss for the period from discontinued operations - (0.3)
Loss on disposal of discontinued operations - (9.2)
Net lossattributable to discontinued operations - (9.5)
4 EARNINGS PER SHARE (EPS)
EPS is calculated by dividing the profit attributable to equity shareholders of
£35.0m (2012: £196.2m) by the weighted average number of ordinary shares of
481.7m (2012: 481.4m). The numbers of ordinary shares used for the basic and
diluted calculations are shown in the table below.
The difference in the number of shares between the basic calculation and the
diluted calculation represents the weighted average number of potentially
dilutive ordinary share options.
2013 2012
Number Number
m m
Weighted average number of share used in basic calculation 481.7 481.4
SAYE share options 0.2 0.3
Executive share options 2.3 2.4
484.2 484.1
The underlying basic EPS is intended to highlight the recurring results of the
Group before amortisation charges, ineffectiveness on financial derivatives,
exceptional items and loss/(profit) on disposal of properties. A reconciliation
is set out below:
2013 2012
£m EPS(p) £m EPS (p)
Basic profit/EPS from continuing operations 35.0 7.3 205.7 42.7
Basic profit/EPS from discontinued - - (9.5) (1.9)
operations
Basic profit/EPS 35.0 7.3 196.2 40.8
Amortisation charges¹ 51.8 10.7 30.7 6.4
Ineffectiveness on financial derivatives 5.5 1.1 11.0 2.2
Exceptional items 75.0 15.6 (49.4) (10.3)
Non-controlling interests on exceptional 4.7 1.0 - -
items
Loss/(profit) on disposal of properties 2.7 0.6 (1.0) (0.2)
Business disposals - - 9.2 1.9
Tax effect of above adjustments (43.3) (9.0) (0.4) (0.1)
Deferred tax credit due to change in UK (2.0) (0.4) (4.0) (0.8)
corporation tax rate
Underlying profit/EPS 129.4 26.9 192.3 39.9
Underlying profit/EPS from discontinued - - 0.3 0.1
operations
Underlying profit/EPS from continuing 129.4 26.9 192.6 40.0
operations
1Amortisation charges of £52.0m per note 6 less £0.2m (2012: £30.9m less £0.2m)
attributable to equity non-controlling interests.
2013 2012
Diluted EPS pence pence
Continuing operations
Basic 7.2 42.5
Underlying 26.7 39.8
Continuing and discontinued operations
Basic 7.2 40.5
Underlying 26.7 39.7
2013 2012 2011
5GOODWILL £m £m £m
Cost
At 1 April 1,604.3 1,613.0 1,754.9
Additions - 2.9 2.3
Disposals (11.5) (11.3) (14.2)
Foreign exchange movements 77.0 (0.3) (130.0)
At 31 March 1,669.8 1,604.3 1,613.0
Accumulated impairment losses
At 1 April 5.0 5.0 -
Impairment losses for the year (recorded 4.0 - 5.0
in exceptional items)
Disposals (5.0) - -
At 31 March 4.0 5.0 5.0
Carrying amount
At 31 March 1,665.8 1,599.3 1,608.0
Greyhound Rail
Customer brand and franchise
contracts trade agreements Total
name
6OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS £m £m £m £m
Cost
At 1 April 2011 381.5 61.9 56.3 499.7
Additions - - 1.4 1.4
Foreign exchange movements (0.3) (0.1) - (0.4)
At 31 March 2012 381.2 61.8 57.7 500.7
Foreign exchange movements 19.1 3.0 - 22.1
At 31 March 2013 400.3 64.8 57.7 522.8
Amortisation
At 1 April 2011 90.1 11.2 49.8 151.1
Charge for year 24.3 3.2 3.4 30.9
Foreign exchange movements (0.1) - - (0.1)
At 31 March 2012 114.3 14.4 53.2 181.9
Charge for year 47.0 3.1 1.9 52.0
Foreign exchange movements 6.3 0.8 - 7.1
At 31 March 2013 167.6 18.3 55.1 241.0
Carrying amount
At 31 March 2013 232.7 46.5 2.6 281.8
At 31 March 2012 266.9 47.4 4.5 318.8
At 31 March 2011 291.4 50.7 6.5 348.6
Passenger Other
Land and carrying plant and
buildings vehicle equipment Total
fleet
7PROPERTY PLANT & EQUIPMENT £m £m £m £m
Cost
At 1 April 2011 536.5 2,565.2 596.7 3,698.4
Subsidiary undertakings disposed of (2.8) (4.0) (0.6) (7.4)
Additions in the year 15.6 202.7 105.2 323.5
Disposals (41.6) (72.1) (23.8) (137.5)
Transfers - 11.3 (11.3) -
Reclassified as held for sale - (77.6) - (77.6)
Foreign exchange movements (0.4) (1.8) 0.1 (2.1)
At 31 March 2012 507.3 2,623.7 666.3 3,797.3
Additions in the year 12.6 249.3 108.2 370.1
Disposals (22.5) (96.6) (25.7) (144.8)
Reclassified as held for sale (25.5) (96.7) (3.3) (125.5)
Foreign exchange movements 12.7 89.6 10.7 113.0
At 31 March 2013 484.6 2,769.3 756.2 4,010.1
Accumulated depreciation and impairment
At 1 April 2011 75.0 1,231.6 308.9 1,615.5
Subsidiary undertakings disposed of (0.3) (2.0) (0.4) (2.7)
Charge for year 12.0 220.3 95.8 328.1
Disposals (3.1) (70.1) (14.5) (87.7)
Transfers - (24.0) 24.0 -
Reclassified as held for sale - (61.6) - (61.6)
Foreign exchange movements (0.1) (0.5) - (0.6)
At 31 March 2012 83.5 1,293.7 413.8 1,791.0
Charge for year 11.3 217.9 135.5 364.7
Disposals (2.7) (92.8) (17.3) (112.8)
Reclassified as held for sale (4.7) (64.7) (1.8) (71.2)
Impairment (recorded in exceptional 5.6 3.7 - 9.3
items)
Foreign exchange movements 2.1 42.5 6.9 51.5
At 31 March 2013 95.1 1,400.3 537.1 2,032.5
Carrying amount
At 31 March 2013 389.5 1,369.0 219.1 1,977.6
At 31 March 2012 423.8 1,330.0 252.5 2,006.3
At 31 March 2011 461.5 1,333.6 287.8 2,082.9
2013 2012 2011
8 INVENTORIES £m £m £m
Spare parts and consumables 79.7 90.6 91.1
Property development work in progress 0.2 0.4 0.3
79.9 91.0 91.4
In the view of the Directors there is no material difference between the
balance sheet value of inventories and their replacement cost. There was no
material write down of inventories during the current or prior year. The
provision for stock obsolescence at the balance sheet date was £8.2m (2012: £
8.0m; 2011: £8.2m).
2013 2012 2011
9 TRADE AND OTHER RECEIVABLES £m £m £m
Amounts due within one year
Trade receivables 340.2 299.8 319.4
Provision for doubtful receivables (3.2) (4.5) (7.5)
Other receivables 52.4 72.8 53.4
Other prepayments 116.6 112.1 100.9
Accrued income 135.0 121.7 89.3
641.0 601.9 555.5
2013 2012 2011
10 TRADE AND OTHER PAYABLES £m £m £m
Amounts falling due within one year
Trade payables 402.0 397.6 312.2
Other payables 184.3 169.1 113.9
Accruals 509.1 547.5 573.1
Deferred income 82.1 78.7 67.4
Season ticket deferred income 73.2 68.1 63.3
1,250.7 1,261.0 1,129.9
2013 2012 2011
11FINANCIAL LIABILITIES - BORROWING £m £m £m
Current financial liabilities
Short-term bank loans - 69.3 93.5
- 69.3 93.5
Bond 6.875% (repayable 2013) 319.8 20.3 20.2
Bond 8.125% (repayable 2018) 12.8 12.9 12.8
Bond 6.125% (repayable 2019) 3.0 3.0 3.0
Bond 8.75% (repayable 2021) 30.1 30.2 30.1
Bond 5.25% (repayable 2022) 5.7 - -
Bond 6.875% (repayable 2024) 7.2 7.2 7.2
378.6 73.6 73.3
HP contracts and finance leases (note 12) 62.7 52.4 42.8
Total current financial liabilities 441.3 195.3 209.6
Non-current financial liabilities
Syndicated and bilateral unsecured bank 385.4 426.0 554.9
loans
385.4 426.0 554.9
Bond 6.875% (repayable 2013) - 298.5 298.0
Bond 8.125% (repayable 2018) 297.1 296.7 296.4
Bond 6.125% (repayable 2019) 305.4 299.7 276.7
Bond 8.75% (repayable 2021) 347.4 347.1 347.0
Bond 5.25% (repayable 2022) 319.1 - -
Bond 6.875% (repayable 2024) 199.5 199.0 199.0
1,468.5 1,441.0 1,417.1
HP contracts and finance lease (note 12) 355.5 282.9 209.1
Loan notes (note 13) 9.7 9.7 9.7
Senior unsecured loan notes 98.3 93.3 -
Total non-current financial liabilities 2,317.4 2,252.9 2,190.8
Total liabilities 2,758.7 2,448.2 2,400.4
Gross borrowings repayment profile
Within one year or on demand 441.3 195.3 209.6
Between one and two years 122.3 407.0 216.0
Between two and five years 637.7 564.9 796.1
Over five years 1,557.4 1,281.0 1,178.7
2,758.7 2,448.2 2,400.4
12 HP CONTRACTS AND FINANCE LEASES
The Group had the following obligations under HP contracts and finance leases
as at the balance sheet dates:
2013 2012 2011
2013 Present 2012 Present 2011 Present
Minimum value of Minimum value of Minimum value of
payments payments payments payments payments payments
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Due in less than one year 64.5 62.7 54.0 52.4 48.8 42.8
Due in more than one year 66.9 63.3 54.8 51.9 48.3 43.2
but not more than two years
Due in more than two years 226.9 203.3 173.9 154.7 116.6 106.3
but not more than five years
Due in more than five years 107.3 88.9 92.6 76.3 62.0 59.6
465.6 418.2 375.3 335.3 275.7 251.9
Less future financing (47.4) - (40.0) - (23.8) -
charges
418.2 418.2 335.3 335.3 251.9 251.9
13 LOAN NOTES
The Group had the following loan notes issued as at the balance sheet dates:
2013 2012 2011
£m £m £m
Due in more than one year but not more than two 9.7 9.7 9.7
years
2013 2012 2011
14DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS £m £m £m
Derivativesdesignated and effective as hedging
instruments carried at fair value
Non-current assets
Cross currency swaps (net investment hedge) 15.2 23.2 22.2
Coupon swaps (fair value hedge) 45.7 43.8 21.0
Fuel derivatives (cash flow hedge) 2.4 5.6 14.9
63.3 72.6 58.1
Current assets
Cross currency swaps (net investment hedge) 3.6 4.3 4.6
Coupon swaps (fair value hedge) 13.2 9.5 6.7
Currency forwards (cash flow hedge) - - 1.2
Fuel derivatives (cash flow hedge) 6.5 29.7 52.6
23.3 43.5 65.1
Current liabilities
Interest rate derivatives (cash flow hedge) 8.1 8.0 15.0
Cross currency swaps (net investment hedge) 47.6 1.2 23.3
Fuel derivatives (cash flow hedge) 4.8 3.5 0.1
60.5 12.7 38.4
Non-current liabilities
Interest rate derivatives (cash flow hedge) 11.8 13.7 1.5
Cross currency swaps (net investment hedge) - 27.1 28.2
Fuel derivatives (cash flow hedge) 0.8 0.9 -
12.6 41.7 29.7
Derivatives classified as held for trading
Current liabilities
Interest rate swaps 4.2 4.4 0.1
Non-current liabilities
Interest rate swaps 9.1 8.4 -
Total non-current assets 63.3 72.6 58.1
Total current assets 23.3 43.5 65.1
Total assets 86.6 116.1 123.2
Total current liabilities 64.7 17.1 38.5
Total non-current liabilities 21.7 50.1 29.7
Total liabilities 86.4 67.2 68.2
15 DEFERRED TAX
The major deferred tax liabilities/(assets) recognised by the Group and
movements thereon during the current and prior reporting periods are as
follows:
Accelerated Other
tax temporary
depreciation differences Tax Total
losses
£m £m £m £m
At 1 April 2011 264.9 9.7 (211.6) 63.0
Charge/(credit) to income (36.9) 61.0 31.3 55.4
Credit to equity - (64.4) - (64.4)
Foreign exchange movements 0.7 0.1 (0.4) 0.4
At 31 March 2012 228.7 6.4 (180.7) 54.4
(Credit)/charge to income (60.3) 17.8 21.3 (21.2)
Credit to equity - (22.0) - (22.0)
Foreign exchange movements 7.1 0.9 (9.0) (1.0)
At 31 March 2013 175.5 3.1 (168.4) 10.2
Certain deferred tax assets and liabilities have been offset. The following is
the analysis of the deferred tax balances for financial reporting purposes:
2013 2012 2011
£m £m £m
Deferred tax assets (53.2) (43.3) (30.0)
Deferred tax liabilities 63.4 97.7 93.0
10.2 54.4 63.0
2013 2012 2011
16 PROVISIONS £m £m £m
Insurance claims 216.2 218.4 221.0
Legal and other 40.8 19.9 26.4
FGW contract provision - - 48.7
Pensions 3.9 4.2 4.7
Non-current liabilities 260.9 242.5 300.8
FGW
Insurance Legal contract
claims and provision Pensions Total
other
£m £m £m £m £m
At 1 April 2012 336.0 24.1 56.9 4.2 421.2
Charged to the income statement 135.1 33.2 9.9 - 178.2
Utilised in the year (173.1) (8.1) (32.9) (0.3) (214.4)
Notional interest 19.5 - - - 19.5
Foreign exchange movements 15.1 1.6 - - 16.7
At 31 March 2013 332.6 50.8 33.9 3.9 421.2
Current liabilities 116.4 10.0 33.9 - 160.3
Non-current liabilities 216.2 40.8 - 3.9 260.9
At 31 March 2013 332.6 50.8 33.9 3.9 421.2
Current liabilities 117.6 4.2 56.9 - 178.7
Non-current liabilities 218.4 19.9 - 4.2 242.5
At 31 March 2012 336.0 24.1 56.9 4.2 421.2
Current liabilities 119.5 11.2 11.2 - 141.9
Non-current liabilities 221.0 26.4 48.7 4.7 300.8
At 31 March 2011 340.5 37.6 59.9 4.7 442.7
2013 2012 2011
17 SHARE CAPITAL £m £m £m
Allotted, called up and fully paid:
482.1m Ordinary shares of 5p each 24.1 24.1 24.1
Number £m
m
At 31 March 2011, 31 March 2012 and 31 March 2013 482.1 24.1
2013 2012
18 NET CASH FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES £m £m
Operating profit before (loss)/profit on disposal of 208.4 447.0
properties
Operating profit of discontinued operations - (0.3)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges 364.7 328.1
Capital grant amortisation (33.1) (13.7)
Amortisation charges 52.0 30.9
Impairment charges 13.3 -
Share-based payments 5.6 6.0
Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment 4.0 3.8
Operating cash flows before working capital 614.9 801.8
Decrease in inventories 10.6 0.6
(Increase)/decrease in receivables (8.2) 34.0
(Decrease)/increase in payables (32.2) 34.6
Decrease in provisions (12.2) (77.8)
Defined benefit pension payments in excess of income (94.0) (160.4)
statement charge
Cash generated by operations 478.9 632.8
Tax paid (6.3) (17.7)
Interest paid (129.0) (130.9)
Interest element of HP contracts and finance leases (10.9) (8.8)
Net cash from operating activities 332.7 475.4
19 POST BALANCE SHEET EVENTS
On 9 April 2013, the Group announced the sale of five of its London bus depots
(and associated assets, including plant and vehicles) (the "Business") to
Metroline Limited, an existing London bus operator. The purchase price for the
Business, payable on completion, is a gross cash consideration of £57.5
million. The Business had a gross asset value as at 31 March 2013 of £21.3m,
and earning before interest and tax for the year ended March 2013 were £7.0m.
In addition on 9 April 2013 the Group announced the sale of a further three
London bus depots to Transit Systems Group for a gross cash consideration of £
21.3m. The proceeds of the sale of these depots (including the Business) will
contribute to the Group's plan to recover performance in its UK Bus division.
On 15 April 2013 the £300m Sterling April 2013 bond was repaid in full.
On 20 May 2013 the Group announced a c.£615m rights issue which will remove the
constraints of the current balance sheet and enable the business to continue to
invest for future returns while reducing leverage to sustainable levels.
Responsibility Statement of the Directors on the Annual Report
The responsibility statement below has been prepared in connection with the
Group's full annual report for the year ending 31 March 2013. Certain parts
thereof are not included within the announcement.
We confirm to the best of our knowledge:
* The Company and Group financial statements, prepared in accordance with UK
GAAP and IFRS respectively, give a true and fair view of the assets,
liability, financial positions and profit of the Company and Group taken as
a whole; and
* The Directors Report contained in he Annual Report includes a fair review
of the development, and performance of the business and the position of the
Company and the Group taken as a whole, together with a description of the
principal risks and uncertainties they face.
The responsibility statement was approved by the Board of Directors on 20 May
2013 and was signed on its behalf by:
Tim O'Toole Chris Surch
Chief Executive Finance Director
Including proceeds from London bus disposals, which are expected in H1 2013/14
(pending Transport for London and Traffic Commissioner approval)
1