FirstGroup shares accelerate on £50m buyback and looming rail push

FirstGroup shares rose sharply on Thursday as the FTSE 250 travel group unveiled a £50m share buyback after a bumper first half.

The Aberdeen-based transport operator revealed that its adjusted turnover rose by £14.8m to £649.6m in the six months to 28 September.

Growth was driven by its bus division which benefited from the £2 fare cap in England and the under-22s free travel scheme in Scotland.

While the segment’s total passenger numbers fell 3 per cent to 204 million, partly because the equivalent period last year included an extra week of operations, its revenue still rose by £8.8 million to £513.7 million .

In comparison, FirstGroup’s rail business only recorded adjusted sales growth of £1.3m to £136m, despite its customer volume expanding by almost 9m to 132.4m.

However, FirstGroup said the rail division’s performance during the second half of the financial year will marginally exceed previous forecasts, partly due to growing demand for its open access services.

Over the same period, he expects the bus division to “make further progress” and achieve a tight operating margin of 10 percent.

Graham Sutherland, chief executive of FirstGroup, said: “We have reported a strong set of results for the first half of our 2025 financial year and are on track to make further progress in the second half.”

FirstGroup’s trading update comes as the new Labor Government introduces new legislation to nationalize passenger rail franchises in England when rail operators’ contracts expire.

The FTSE 250 company runs three major train operators: Avanti West Coast, Great Western Railway and South Western Railway, as well as open access operators Lumo and Hull Trains.

Open access operators run trains on main routes, but do not receive taxpayers’ money or have franchises with the UK Government.

“Looking ahead, First Bus and our First Rail open access businesses are expected to continue to grow from their existing strong foundations,” FirstGroup said.

Last month the company acquired Shropshire-based Lakeside Group and Anderson Travel, a coach supplier based near London’s Tower Bridge, for undisclosed sums.

These two companies have around 185 buses and coaches between them, and both offer school and private rental services.

first group shares They rose 5.5 per cent to 144.3p just before midday on Thursday, making them one of the biggest risers on the FTSE 250 index, although their value has still fallen by around 17 per cent this year.