Trainline shares soar as fewer strike days help boost £2bn in ticket sales

Trainline shares soared on Thursday after the rail ticketing platform raised its full-year guidance following strong first-half growth.

The FTSE 250 company’s revenue rose 17 per cent year-on-year to £229m in the six months to August 31 as declining strike levels boosted net ticket sales 15 per cent higher to £2bn.

Trainline now expects annual growth in revenue and net ticket sales “at the higher end” of previous guidance, which had forecast the former to rise by 7-11 per cent and the latter by 8-12 per cent.

As a result, adjusted earnings before untoward events for the year are expected to exceed previous guidance of 2.4 to 2.5 percent of net ticket sales, Trainline’s key measure of profitability growth.

Trainline shares By late morning, U.S. Treasuries were up 9.7 percent at 329.2 pence, representing gains of about 35 percent over the past 12 months. However, they are still down about 32 percent over the past five years.

Last year, Trainline suffered an intensification of rail strikes just as it was recovering from the impact of COVID lockdowns.

But the group said the first half of the financial year had benefited from a “reduced impact from the strike”, which it says cost it £3m-£4m over six days, compared with £5m-£6m over 11 days last year.

Trade in the UK was also boosted by more Britons switching to digital tickets: e-ticket penetration in the industry rose to 51 per cent of ticket sales, up from 46 per cent during the same period last year, according to Trainline.

International net ticket sales rose 6 per cent to £583m, with combined growth of 23 per cent in Spain and Italy helping to offset a 3 per cent decline in France and Germany.

Spain and Italy continue to drive international momentum, having also enjoyed double-digit growth last year.

Chief Executive Jody Ford said: ‘Competition between rail carriers is growing across Europe and as the preferred aggregator we deliver the value and convenience that customers want.

‘This is most clearly demonstrated in Spain, where we have tripled net ticket sales over the past two years, with over one million customers transacting in the past 12 months alone.’