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Full Year Results for the year ended 31 December 2011
29 Feb 2012

With a record financial performance in 2011, we are now delivering industry-leading performance in
most of our markets and are well positioned to exploit emerging growth opportunities.

  • Record statutory profit before tax and amortisation of £180.2 million (2010: £97.3m)
  • Revenue growth of 5.3% to £2,238.0 million (2010: £2,125.9m)
  • Operating profit1 increased by 10.3% to £225.2 million (2010: £204.2m)
  • Revenue and profit growth in every division. Record profits in our UK Coach business of £34.9 million
  • Industry leading operating margins in Spain, North America, UK Coach and Rail – North America achieved 10% margin; Group margin has almost doubled since 2009
  • Passenger journeys rose by 5.4 million journeys to 656.6 million
  • Strong balance sheet with long-term funding maturity. Gearing ratio further improved to 1.9x (2010: 2.1x)
  • Basic EPS increased 14.4% to 27.0p (2010: 23.6p); 20.3p delivered from non-rail earnings (2010: 17.9p)
  • Final dividend increased 8.3% to 6.5p

Financial summary

Year ended 31 December
 2011 2010 Change
   
Revenue (£m) 2,238.0 2,125.9 +5.3%
Group operating profit (£m) 225.2 204.2 +10.3%
Share of results from associates (£m) 1.4 0.3 +366%
Net finance costs (£m) (46.4) (44.0) -5.5%
   
Profit before taxation (£m) 180.2 160.5 +12.3%
   
Operating margin (%)
 10.1 9.6 +50 bps
Net debt2 (£m) 633.7 610.4 +3.8%
Gearing ratio - net debt:EBITDA
 1.9x 2.1x +10%
Basic earnings per share (pence) 27.0 23.6 +14.4%
Statutory profit for the period (£m)
 102.6 62.3 +65%

 

Comment
Commenting on the results, Dean Finch, National Express Group Chief Executive, said:

“In just two years National Express has moved from reporting losses to the record profits we have announced today. We carried more passengers than in 2010 and are now the best performing operator in many of our markets. While our customers are increasingly cost conscious in these challenging economic times, we are focused on delivering excellent services at good value. We are determined to maintain this momentum in 2012. I believe our portfolio of businesses and track record of success mean we are also well placed to do this and target emerging growth opportunities.”

Outlook
Following a strong end to 2011, we expect passenger revenue to continue to grow in each of our bus and coach divisions. In 2012, as austerity measures, fuel and fare increases make passenger travel by other modes relatively more expensive, National Express provides attractive, value for money alternatives. We believe that our portfolio of businesses will provide sustainable earnings growth, continued cash generation and exciting opportunities for growth in selected markets in the medium term.

Enquiries:

National Express Group PLC

Jez Maiden, Group Finance Director 0121 460 8657
Stuart Morgan, Head of Investor Relations 0121 460 8657
Anthony Vigor, Director of Policy and External Affairs 0207 805 3806
 

Maitland

Neil Bennett / George Hudson 020 7379 5151

Notes to Editors
National Express Group PLC (“National Express” or the “Group”), a leading international public
transport group, operates bus and coach services across the UK, continental Europe/North Africa
and North America, together with rail services in the UK.

1 All profit and margin numbers unless otherwise stated refer to normalised results, which can be
found on the face of the Group Income Statement in the first column. The definition of normalised
profit is as follows:
Statutory result excluding profit or loss on the sale of business, exceptional profit or loss on sale of
non-current assets and charges for goodwill impairment, intangible asset amortisation, exceptional
items and tax relief thereon, for continuing operations. The Board believes that the normalised
result gives a better indication of the underlying performance of the Group

Operating margin: the ratio of normalised operating profit to revenue for continuing businesses

2 Net debt is defined as the Group’s total borrowings, including bank debt, bonds and finance lease
obligations (excluding accrued interest), less cash, overnight deposits and short term deposits.

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