Trainline shares tank despite record sales with rivals launching national ticket app

Despite announcing record full-year sales and a £75m buyback programme, shares in Trainline plummeted on Thursday.

A robust set of results failed to alleviate investor concerns about the introduction of a state-owned competitor ticketing app in the UK, leading to the stock falling more than 13 per cent in early trading, as reported by City AM.

This occurred even though net ticket sales rose by 12 per cent to a record £5.9bn year-on-year, aligning with previously upgraded guidance but at the lower end. The increase was fuelled by Trainline's UK operations, where sales increased 13 per cent to £3.9bn.

International ticket sales climbed four per cent to £1.1bn, boosted by a strong performance from its Spanish division. On Thursday, Trainline revealed a new share repurchase scheme worth up to £75m.

It already has an ongoing buyback programme of up to eight per cent of its issued share capital. "With record net ticket sales for the third year in a row, we saw growth in consumer sales in the UK of 13 per cent and in Spain of 41 per cent, while international B2B sales through our Global API increased by about 60 per cent," said Jody Ford, Chief Executive.

"Our decades-long experience in delivering ease, choice and value for our 27m customers sets us apart from the competition, be it global tech players or national incumbents."

The CEO of Trainline has emphasised the potential for growth within the UK and Europe, underpinning the importance of market conditions: "There is still so much to be achieved in the UK and Europe with the critical foundation being open, fair and competitive markets. Rail is set to surge across Europe and Trainline will be at the centre of it."