 rose nearly 5 percent on Wednesday, despite a weak performance from its bus division.){kind=link}
Shares in transport operator Stagecoach (LON:SGC) rose nearly 5 percent on Wednesday, after a weak performance from its bus division was offset by robust demand for rail services.
The group’s UK bus division saw revenue fall 1.7 percent in the 44 weeks to the 4th March 2017, with revenue for London down 0.9 percent. Passenger journeys were also down by 1.7 percent, with weaker demand impacting figures. Its bus division in North America fared even worse, seeing a 2.2 percent fall in revenue over the period.
However, its UK Rail service saw an improvement, with revenue up 1.6 percent despite a challenges faced in the second half of 2016 by the temporary closure of Lamington viaduct in southern Scotland.
Stagecoach’s UK Rail division includes the Virgin Trains East and West Coast franchises, as well as several commuter routes in London. The company stated that revenue growth in the inter-city businesses “continued to out-perform growth” at their London commuter business. Stagecoach added that, as expected, “revenue growth at Virgin Rail Group’s West Coast franchise was higher than the industry average”.
Investors seemed to be cheers by the positive performance by the rail sector, with shares in Stagecoach (LON:SGC) rising over 5 percent over the course of morning trading. They are currently trading up 5.02 percent at 209.30 (1326GMT).