Trainline has maintained its guidance for the full-year, as its group net ticket sales remained broadly flat year-on-year at £3.3bn.

In the six months to 31 August, the digital rail and coach ticketing platform recorded a 1% drop in its group revenue, totalling £233m as expected, as a result of the impact of UK refund fees arising from a tightening of industry refund rules.

Its earnings increased by 7% to £100, while its operating profit dropped by 5% to £64m. Its profit before tax also dropped by 11% to £55m, reflecting the reduction in operating profit and net financial charges of £9m.

The platform stated that its in-app railcard holders increased by 26% year-on-year to over three million, with customers increasingly relying on the company to navigate disruption and plan journeys, with 91% of eligible travellers seeing disruption features.

Trainline also made a nod to the introduction of Great British Rail (GBR), stating that the recently introduced regulatory framework underpins the future market.

However, it did say that the code of conduct needs further strengthening.

CEO at Trainline, Ian Brown, stated: "Trainline is a business with real strengths and structural advantages that are hard to replicate. Millions of customers come back to us because we take the complexities out of rail, saving them time, money and uncertainty. We have a talented team and culture that I am proud to be part of, with significant opportunities across the UK and Europe. Those strengths showed in the first half, despite multiple headwinds, and today we are reconfirming our full-year guidance.

"Rail is entering a new era with GBR, and the ORR’s draft Retail Code of Practice is an important step forward. It confirms fair, transparent and non-discriminatory access to fares, products, systems and data, and is a positive foundation for a fair and open retail market. But it needs further strengthening, and we are maintaining our assertive stance, actively engaging through the consultation and with Government."

Trainline reiterated its guidance for the full-year, with group net ticket sales expected to reach between £6.2bn and £6.45bn, while its underlying revenue is set to total between £440m and £455m.

The firm has also said a new share buyback scheme, announced in September, will run over the subsequent 12-month period, following the completion of the previous £150m share buyback programme. As of 31 October, Trainline has repurchased £356m in shares since the launch of its first buyback programme in September 2023.

Following the update, shares in Trainline dropped by 2.44%.

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