Trainline plc (LON:TRN) has announced its results for the twelve months ended 29 February 2024.
FY2024 financial summary:
| £m unless otherwise stated: | FY2024 | FY2023 | % YoY |
| Net ticket sales1 | 5,295 | 4,323 | +22% |
| Revenue | 397 | 327 | +21% |
| Adjusted EBITDA2 | 122 | 86 | +42% |
| Operating profit | 56 | 28 | +101% |
| Adjusted basic earnings per share (pence)3 | 12.3p | 7.7p | +59% |
| Basic earnings per share (pence)3 | 7.3p | 4.5p | +61% |
| Operating free cash flow | 91 | 8 | n.m. |
Financial highlights:
· Net ticket sales up 22% year on year (YoY) to £5.3 billion at top end of previous guidance range, driving growth in revenue of 21% to £397 million, above previous guidance range
· Adjusted EBITDA up 42% to £122 million, 2.3% of net ticket sales; operating profit up 101% to £56 million, driven by volume growth and operating leverage
· Basic earnings per share of 7.3p up 61%; adjusted basic earnings per share of 12.3p, up 59%
· Operating free cashflow up from £8 million to £91 million; leverage ratio down from 1.2x to 0.5x adj. EBITDA
Strategic highlights:
· Strong growth in mobile app downloads, now Europe’s most downloaded rail app4
· Helping shift the UK rail market to digital tickets:
o Eticket penetration of industry ticket sales increased to 47% from 43% in FY20235
o Grown on-the-day bookings to 66% of UK Consumer transactions, while Trainline’s share of commuter travel segment increasing to 23% from 10% pre-COVID
· International Consumer net ticket sales surpassed £1 billion, driven by European markets with most widespread carrier competition:
o Combined growth across Spain and Italy of 43%6
o Domestic ticket sales in Spain more than doubled for two consecutive years7
o Consumer awareness in Spain and Italy has more than doubled since brand campaigns launched in both markets 18 and 24 months ago respectively8
o Enhancing customer engagement through our Mobile App – International Consumer app share of transactions now 62%, including Italy now at 73%
Group guidance for FY2025:
· Net ticket sales YoY growth of between +8% and +12%
· Revenue YoY growth of between +7% and +11%
· Adjusted EBITDA of between 2.4% and 2.5% of net ticket sales
New share buyback programme announced:
· In line with Trainline’s stated capital allocation framework, we have announced a new £75 million buyback programme to commence upon completion of existing programme
· £38 million of shares repurchased under existing £50 million programme as at the end of April 2024
Jody Ford, CEO of Trainline said:
“New entrant carrier competition is revolutionising rail in Europe as more customers benefit from greater choice, lower prices and the opportunity to choose greener travel. We are becoming the aggregator of choice in the UK and internationally and are delivering strong growth, particularly in those markets liberalising fastest such as Spain.
“With four carrier brands competing across its high-speed rail network, we have doubled domestic ticket sales in Spain for the second year running and significantly grown our market share on the top routes. With new entrant carrier competition set to ramp up in Italy, France and the UK in the coming years, the opportunity grows to create a golden age of rail travel.”
Presentation of results
There will be a live webcast presentation of the results to analysts and investors at 09:00am BST today (3 May 2024). Please register to participate at the Company’s investor website: https://www.trainlinegroup.com/investors/results-reports-presentations/full-year-webcast-fy2024/
