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The company said in a trading update that the figure will be substantially lower than the £34.9 million recorded during the opening six months of last year, due to the fact that government franchise subsidies have been reduced.
This has offset any gains from the forecast ten per cent increase in passenger revenue growth on its London Midland and Southern services.
However, the firm was more positive about results from its bus services, helping its shares to rise 7p in morning stock market trading, taking them to 1,278p at 08:44 GMT.
"We expect our bus operations to remain strong in the second half of this year and to benefit from a full year of acquisition contributions," it notedin a statement, adding that first-half operating profit from its bus franchises is likely to be higher than the £31.4 million it made in the first six months of last year.
Posted by Greg Secker
