Trainline Shares Rally After Lifting Guidance Following Strong H1

Independent rail and coach travel platform Trainline (LON: TRN) saw its shares surge more than 8% on Thursday after the company announced a strong first-half performance and raised its guidance for the full year.

Net ticket sales for the six months ended August 31 reached £3.0 billion, up 14% year-on-year. Revenue increased by 16% to £229 million. Both figures exceeded the company's previous expectations.

The growth was said to have been driven by increased digital ticket adoption and a rebound in travel demand following the easing of pandemic restrictions.

Furthermore, Trainline's UK consumer business saw a particularly strong performance, with net ticket sales up 15%, reflecting growing digital sales and the reduced impact of strike action compared to last year.

Jody Ford, CEO of Trainline, commented: “Our strong performance shows how our relentless focus on innovation is helping more customers to choose digital ticketing.

“Competition between rail carriers is growing across Europe and as the aggregator of choice we deliver the value and convenience customers want. This is most clearly demonstrated in Spain, where we have tripled net ticket sales in the last two years, with over one million customers transacting in the last 12 months alone.”

Based on the positive first-half results, Trainline now expects net ticket sales and revenue growth for the full year at the top end of its previously announced guidance range. In May, the company said it sees net ticket sales YoY growth of between +8% and +12% , revenue YoY growth of between +7% and +11%  and adjusted EBITDA of between 2.4% and 2.5% of net ticket sales.

Additionally, the company anticipates adjusted EBITDA to exceed its earlier forecast.

Trainline's shares rose sharply following the news. It is currently up 8.9% at 326.8p a share, reflecting positive market sentiment surrounding the company's growth prospects.