National Express owner's UK sales continue to struggle after CEO's exit
Mobico revenues rose at the start of this year as bumper performances across Europe and North America, offset continued weakness in the UK and Germany.
National Express's parent company said its turnover increased by 9 per cent in the quarter ending March, with revenue expanding by 13 per cent in both North America and its Spanish subsidiary ALSA.
Trading in the former territory benefited from a rise in billable hours in its WeDriveU business, as well as rate hikes and route additions in the school bus division, which Mobico recently agreed to sell.
In the latter market, the transport operator enjoyed growing passenger numbers on its long-haul and regional services, thanks somewhat to the extension of a free multi-vouchers scheme.
However, Mobico continued struggling in the UK, where bus customer volumes were flat year-on-year and the absence of train strikes led to its total coach revenue falling by 6 per cent.
It also benefited less from UK rail strikes, which helped boost demand last year.
Mobico also experienced declining turnover in its German segment as bus and coach driver shortages resulted in higher penalties from cancellations.
It comes less than three weeks after its chief executive, Ignacio Garat, resigned at the same time the firm reported its annual pre-tax losses soared more than fivefold to £609.3million.
Losses were attributed to writing off deferred tax assets, goodwill impairments and onerous contract provisions in its German business.
The Spanish-born executive has been replaced on an interim basis by executive chair Phil White, who used to run National Express Group - Mobico's former name - between 1997 and 2006.
Turnaround experience needed?
Peel Hunt analyst Alexander Paterson said Mobico 'needs to change the way it is negotiating and restructure its German rail holdings'.
He also warned Transport for West Midlands' transition to a franchising model means Mobico's UK bus business 'is likely to operate fewer routes and at lower margin than it did pre pandemic'.
He added: 'A new CEO, with experience of turnarounds in the bus and rail sector across the UK and Germ any, cannot come quickly enough.'
Interim boss White said the company's first-quarter result was 'evidence of continuing growth in demand for our services.'
He added: 'Our priority remains in strengthening our balance sheet and accelerating the pace of operational and financial improvement to drive the change that is necessary to creating a business that can take advantage of the opportunities ahead.'
Just a few days before Garat's departure, Mobico announced the agreed sale of its North American school bus division to infrastructure investor I Squared Capital for up to $608million (£457million).
The proposed price tag was far lower than many City analysts were expecting, with broker Jefferies estimating the segment could be worth as much as £1.2billion.
Mobico will use proceeds from the bus division's sale to reduce its net debts, which stood at £991.3million at the end of last year.
Mobico Group shares were 1.8 per cent down at 27.2p on late Monday afternoon, taking their losses to around 59 per cent over the past month.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
22 minutes ago
- Times
Leaving oil and gas in the ground was always a pipe dream
Just call me Mystic Mac. As I forecast in this space earlier this month, the UK has finally opened the door to the development of the Rosebank oilfield off Shetland and the Jackdaw gas field off Aberdeen. Ed Miliband, the net zero secretary, famously said that drilling in these two modest reserves would constitute 'climate vandalism'. Well, it looks like he will shortly have to get his spray paint out and daub 'Just Start Oil' on the door of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. To be honest, it didn't take supernatural foresight to predict that these totemic fields would ultimately get the go-ahead. They were given licences by the last government. Production was halted only by a bizarre judgment by the Court of Session in Edinburgh. In January Lord Ericht ruled in favour of the climate activists, Uplift and Greenpeace, who argued that the UK government hadn't carried out a full environmental impact assessment of the emissions from the burning of fossil fuels downstream. It had merely provided an assessment of the carbon dioxide from the process of extracting it and piping it ashore. New methods of extraction can and are producing significant reductions in producer emissions. But the UK government had not formally included an assessment of the downstream emissions since it was deemed self-evident that burning hydrocarbons produces greenhouse gases. What did the court expect? That it would be used to oil bicycle chains and fill balloons? Shell says that Jackdaw alone would produce enough gas to heat 1.4 million households. The environmental and health impact on those households of withdrawing their main source of heating was not, of course, considered in this pettifogging ruling — because that would have required an ounce of common sense. Nor did the court recognise that the gas, which would have to be imported to fuel those domestic boilers if Jackdaw were stoppered, might produce more emissions than using our domestic supply. Yet it should be patently obvious that shipping liquefied natural gas 3,000 miles from America by tanker is more profligate in emissions than using what's produced by extraction from our backyard. The court was tacitly endorsing the perverse logic of the Scottish government and lobbyists such as Greenpeace that, in some morally inexplicable way, imported oil and gas is good while ours is bad. But Sir Keir Starmer was never going to start shutting down an industry that generates about £25 billion a year, according to Offshore Energy UK, and supports around 100,000 jobs. Pointlessly sacrificing these new fields would only have indicated to the few companies still operating in the region that the government is hell bent on closing down the North Sea prematurely. The new rules announced last week by Michael Shanks, the energy minister, will allow further development of the Cambo and Clair fields, expansion of which had also been placed on hold following the January court ruling. This whole episode served only to showcase the absurdity of what is being called the managerial 'lanyard class's' thinking about energy. The Treasury is not stupid and was never going to endorse an exercise in performative self-harm. Nor was No 10. 'Keeping it in the ground', as Patrick Harvie used to advocate, was not what Labour meant by a rational and measured transition to renewable energy. The UK depends on oil and gas for 75 per cent of its energy usage. So the UK government has rejigged the approval process to include a statement of the bleedin' obvious — viz, that burning oil and gas produces emissions. Industry sources believe, rightly, that by submitting this new and more politically correct prospectus, they will be able to go ahead. That is, if firms like Equinor haven't given up in disgust. They're already being hit by a 78 per cent profits tax on North Sea oil, which makes you wonder why they bother. It's not as if the oil price is exactly soaring right now, despite the nasty business in the Strait of Hormuz. Companies such as Harbour Energy have given up and pulled out. Norwegian-owned Equinor, in Rosebank, is hanging on, presumably in the hope that it will be well placed to bid for future wind farm development. It installed the first commercially viable floating wind farm, Hywind, off Peterhead. All of which underlines the lamentable state of our whole approach to energy. Oil companies, demonised by the environmental lobby, happen to possess the very skills and technology which will be needed if and when the green energy bonanza finally materialises. Greenpeace seems to think the wind energy in the North Sea can be harnessed by Native American dream-catchers and transmitted into people's homes by daisy chains. In fact it requires heavy-duty platforms, implanted in turbulent waters, to support wind turbines the size of the Eiffel Tower — and also the laying of undersea cables to get it to the grid (if it can be upgraded in time). This is not very different, technologically, from what fossil fuel companies have been doing for the past 50 years. Rosebank and Jackdaw are not going to solve the UK's strategic energy deficit. They are rather modest operations in a North Sea field that is in steep and irrevocable decline. The glory days are over. But we still need whatever they can provide, if only to ensure a measure of energy security and help reduce costly imports. One of the more specious arguments currently deployed by opponents of Rosebank and Jackdaw is that their hydrocarbons will be exported and are therefore of no use here. Not so: gas goes directly to the UK. Oil is mostly exported to Rotterdam for refining, but it comes back as petrol and other products. It isn't refined here because we've closed nearly all our own refineries, such as Grangemouth, because of our perverse belief that it is morally preferable to import hydrocarbons. Abandoning the North Sea won't bring forward net zero by a single day. It will merely increase our dependency on authoritarian governments in the Middle East, make energy bills even more unaffordable, and deprive the UK of billions in oil revenues to spend on the NHS. Predictably, the Scottish government has not responded to the energy U-turn. The SNP is still under the sway of environmental cretinism. No wonder Fergus Ewing, a voice of energy sanity, has decided to walk. Perhaps Ed Miliband may be following him in the not-too-distant future.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding planners defend couple's lavish nuptials as Venice locals stage protests
The planners behind Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez 's luxurious Venetian wedding have defended the billionaire couple amid fierce backlash from the Italian city's locals. After a two-year-long engagement, Bezos and Sanchez are set to tie the knot on June 27 - but the ceremony is just one part of their extravagant celebrity-laden celebration. News of the lavish wedding has sparked outrage among Venice's residents, who have been protesting against the Amazon founder's arrival. Passionate signs reading 'No space for Bezos' and 'Veniceland: A playground fit for an oligarch' have been plastered across Venice, sharing the sentiment that citizens want Bezos and Sanchez to take their multimillion-dollar wedding elsewhere. Demonstrators have also been plotting to clog up streets and canals to throw off the wedding's events and hinder the roughly 200 guests from getting around the city. But the couple's wedding organizers, Lanza & Baucina Limited, have spoken out on their high-profile clients' behalf, claiming they have been adamant about respecting Venice throughout the entire planning process. 'From the outset, instructions from our client and our own guiding principles were abundantly clear: the minimizing of any disruption to the city, the respect for its residents and institutions and the overwhelming employment of locals in the crafting of the events,' Lanza & Baucina Limited said in a statement to Page Six. 'Before the recent news of protests arose, we had worked for there to be minimal negative impact or disruption to the lives of Venetians and the city's visitors.' The company added that Bezos and Sanchez have donated funds to various Venice charities in the months leading up to the nuptials. Bezos and Sanchez have also gifted funds on behalf of their guests, Page Six reported. Others have also voiced support for the powerful pair - including one of the wedding's vendors. 'Events like this bring quality tourism to Venice,' Antonio Rosa Salva, the owner of Rosa Salva Venetia bakery, which is making pastries for the wedding, told The Associated Press. 'I don't see how an event with 200 people can create disruptions. It's responsible tourism. 'It's prestigious that a couple like this, who can go anywhere in the world, are getting married in the city.' Mayor Luigi Brugnaro also advocated for Bezos and Sanchez, telling The Associated Press: 'We are very proud. 'I don't know if I will have time, or if he will, to meet and shake hands, but it's an honor that they chose Venice. Venice once again reveals itself to be a global stage.' Demonstrators (pictured) have also been plotting to clog up streets and canals to throw off the wedding's events and hinder the roughly 200 guests from getting around the city Founded by Prince Antonio Licata di Baucina and Count Riccardo Lanza, the high-end wedding planning company has worked with stars including George and Amal Clooney, and Salma Hayek and François-Henri Pinault. With a celebrity portfolio, the Bezos-Sanchez matrimony - costing roughly $15 to $20 million - is sure to be nothing less than show-stopping. An Italian source previously revealed to they will say 'I do' on the island of San Giorgio, home to the famous Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, a 16th century Benedictine church. Bezos' $500 million superyacht, Koru, is to be docked on the island's harbor. The island itself will not be open to the public. The ceremony is just one of three events - all at different locations. It is believed that on June 26, there will be a gala at a private cloister along the iconic Lid, possibly at Chiostro della Madonna dell'Orto. And on June 28 there will be an extraordinary party at a church, the source claimed. The insider confirmed guests should be arriving in the country over the next few days and will likely leave by June 29. The guest list is thought to have less than 200 people, with suspected guests including A-listers like Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom and even members of the Trump family. Musicians including Lady Gaga and Elton John are set to perform. 'Lauren wanted some big talent to sing for them and it just doesn't get any bigger than Gaga and Elton,' a source previously told 'It also helps that Gaga and Elton are good friends and were happy to do it together, which is cool. It will be like a mini vacation for the besties.' Around 60 of Venice's water taxis are reserved for the week, with some of the 400 gondolas on the island out of commission as well, according to the source. However, both city officials and wedding planners have debunked rumors that they had booked half of Venice's water taxis. Officials also denied that guests were blocking out rooms in ritzy hotels, and called any speculation of the wedding disturbing the city 'fake news,' according to a March statement. Yet, city's most expensive hotels are nearly fully booked with names from the star-studded guest list. Rosa Salva Venetia will be making pastries for goody bags for the over-the-top weekend. The menu items at the bakery include tiramisu, flaky, cream-filled pastries and fritelli, a traditional fried treat. The insider said a celebrity wedding planner, who is not a part of this event, has heard that guests will receive 'opulent' gifts just for attending. Roughly 80 percent of the money the couple is dishing out for the festivities is going towards Venetian vendors, according to The Associated Press.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Businesses call for action on abuse of public-facing staff
Business leaders are urging the government to broaden legislative action to protect all public-facing workers amid soaring levels of violence and abuse. Some 42 per cent of workers in pubs, restaurants, hotels and transport said they experienced some form of abuse between October and March, a year-on-year increase of 19 per cent, according to the new figures from the Institute of Customer Service. An all-party parliamentary group, which works alongside the industry group UK Hospitality, whose members include retailers, hospitality groups, call centres and transport companies, has been tracking customer service across all sectors over the past five years. • Extra costs holding back hospitality sector, says Whitbread boss Over a third, or 37 per cent, of the 1,050 respondents to the organisation's latest survey said they had considered leaving their role because of incidents which include racial abuse and sexual harassment, while over a quarter said they had taken sick leave after such incidents. One in five workers said they had been threatened with violence, the highest level that the group had recorded. Jo Causon, chief executive of the Institute of Customer Service, said the research showed how 'frontline workers are facing unacceptable levels of assault and abuse from some customers'. Common assault is already an offence and the previous Conservative government had originally rejected calls to create a separate offence specifically linked to shopworkers, arguing it did not think it was 'required or will be most effective'. However, the retail industry argued that incidents were rising and Rishi Sunak's government reversed its position, although its plan to introduce a new offence was abandoned when parliament was dissolved for the general election. • Shops 'at breaking point' as thefts and abuse rocket While there has been a crackdown on retail crime, with a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker in England and Wales set to be introduced as part of the government's Crime and Policing Bill, which is making its way through parliament, businesses are calling for the bill to be amended to include all those working in public-facing roles. In a letter to the government, 76 businesses said that current legislation provided 'only a partial solution to an endemic and preventable issue'. The signatories of the letter include Sky, Hays Travel, Wickes, Virgin Media 02, United Utilities and DPD. 'These professionals form the bedrock to our society and our economy,' the letter said. Causon added: 'Introducing appropriate protection for customer-facing workers is not only the right thing to do on a societal level, it is critical the UK's business performance isn't impacted by workers up and down the country taking time off sick or thinking about leaving their jobs altogether.'
