Trainline ups ticket sales expectations after strong first half

Trainline expects ticket transactions on its platform to be at the high end of annual forecasts, following a robust performance in the first half.

Britain’s largest online ticketing app predicts net ticket sales will rise by 17 to 22 percent this financial year, up from a low of 13 percent previously.

Revenue is also expected to grow 15 to 20 percent, while adjusted pre-nasties profit is expected to be between 2.15 and 2.25 percent of ticket sales.

The London-based company continues to benefit from the revival of rail travel in the absence of Covid-related restrictions and people are buying more tickets online, especially in Britain.

Domestic ticket purchases by consumers rose by around a fifth to £1.71 billion in the six months ended August, even as numerous strike days by rail workers caused millions in lost sales.

Outside Britain, ticket sales increased by more than £100 million to £558 million, which Trainline partly attributed to brand campaigns driving demand in Spain and Italy.

Spanish trade has also been supported by the recent liberalization of its high-speed rail network, the second largest in the world after China.

In contrast, the company said business in France was slowed by the decision to pause marketing pending the liberalization of the country’s railways.

As part of its policy, the European Union has taken the lead in relaxing state control of Europe’s railways Fourth railway packagewhich aims to reduce government subsidies and increase competitiveness in the rail sector.

Trainline says growing competition from airlines puts it well-placed to become the ‘aggregator of choice’ and boost its global business in the medium term.

It noted that rail passenger numbers had “almost fully recovered” to pre-pandemic volumes in the company’s core markets, despite industrial action in Britain and widespread economic uncertainty.

Trainline CEO Jody Ford said: “Our growth over the past six months reflects our focus on continually innovating and improving the customer experience when purchasing digital train tickets.”

After the half-yearly trading update Trainline shares rose 10.1 per cent to 289.2p early on Thursday afternoon, making them one of the top five gainers on the FTSE 250 Index.

Dominic Richardson, rail partner at Gowling WLG, said the group’s ‘technology focus means it can benefit from more tickets being booked via the app as consumers move away from paper tickets.

‘But there is strong competition emerging in this area to take advantage of the sector’s shortcomings, so Trainline will need to establish itself as a market leader to continue to reap the benefits.’