First passenger slump leads to shares losses

TRANSPORT giant FirstGroup has seen shares tumble after flagging doubts over its future amid the coronavirus pandemic as passenger numbers plunged and it slumped to a £300 million loss.

Shares in the bus and rail firm plummeted as much as 18% after it revealed a “material uncertainty” over its ability to continue as a going concern.

It saw pre-tax losses widen to £299.6m for the year to March 31 from losses of £97.9m the previous year after booking a raft of charges – including a £21.5m hit for the Covid-19 crisis.

The group said passenger numbers across its UK and international services plummeted by around 90% in March as countries were placed into lockdown.

It said ongoing guidance to limit travel and social distancing measures will continue to have a “significant impact on our service capacity and financial performance”.