MCG Mobico Group Plc

20 February 2024

MOBICO GROUP PLC

Update on timing of FY 2023 results

FY 2023 Adjusted¹ EBIT expected to be in line with guidance

Mobico Group PLC ("Mobico" or "the Group") today announces a delay to the publication of its audited financial results for the year ended 31 December 2023 ("FY 2023").

Whilst the audit of the Group's FY 2023 results is well progressed, the Group has recently identified that accounting judgements made relating to the German Rail business², including in relation to the financial year ended 31 December 2022, should be subject to further review. The delay in publication of financial results will allow management to conclude its review and allow the Group's auditor, Deloitte, the requisite amount of time to complete its audit.   

The Board continues to expect Adjusted¹ EBIT for FY 2023 to be within the range of £175m-£185m, as provided in the Q3 trading update on 12 October 2023. Covenant gearing is anticipated to be broadly in line with the half-year position and with significant headroom.

ALSA has delivered another strong performance in FY 2023, and the Group's UK and North American businesses have performed in line with expectations. The German Rail business has been impacted by industry-wide driver shortages, energy price volatility and lower energy cost recovery than previously anticipated.  As a result, and subject to the conclusion of the review mentioned above, the Group currently expects the onerous contract provision as at 31 December 2023 to increase by between £40m - £70m which will be utilised over the remaining life of the contract between 2024 and 2033. 

As a result of the additional review the Group's audited financial results for FY2023, which were originally planned to be published on 29 February 2024, are now expected to be published before the end of March 2024.  A new date for publication will be confirmed in due course.

Notes:

1.  To supplement IFRS reporting, the Group presents its results (including EBIT and EBITDA) on an adjusted basis to show the performance of the business before adjusting items. These principally comprise intangible amortisation for acquired businesses, re-measurement of historic onerous contract provisions and impairments, settlement of the WeDriveU Put Liability, voluntary repayment of UK CJRS grant income ('furlough') and Group wide restructuring and other costs. In addition to performance measures directly observable in the Group financial statements (IFRS measures), alternative financial measures are presented that are used internally by management as key measures to assess performance. For the year ended 31 December 2023, the Group has changed this terminology from 'underlying' to 'adjusted' to make clearer what this performance measure represents. There are no changes to the definition of what is included in these items. 

2. The German Rail business is expected to represent less than 6% of FY 2023 Group Adjusted¹ EBIT

All numbers included in this announcement are subject to completion of the audit. 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by Mobico to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No.596/2014 as it forms part of domestic law of the United Kingdom by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. By the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of Mobico is Simon Callander, General Counsel and Company Secretary.

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About Mobico and German Rail

Mobico is a leading, international shared mobility provider with bus, coach and rail services in the UK, North America, continental Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.  Through its German Rail business it operates all three of the RheinRuhr Express ("RRX") lines and the Rhein-Munster Express ('RME') line under long-term contracts in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia.  The accounting for two of the RRX contracts (Lots 2 and 3) and the RME contract involve significant management judgments covering key areas including expected long term revenue and passenger growth assumptions, energy price performance and cost development over the remaining contract life and the extent to which those may be offset by contractual protection mechanisms in place.  Those judgments have to be regularly reassessed and retested.  The RRX contracts for Lots 2 and 3 are also the subject of onerous contract provision on the Balance Sheet reflecting management's estimate of the expected contract life losses which has to be re-valued at every half-year and full year. 

Notes

Legal Entity Identifier: 213800A8IQEMY8PA5X34

Classification: 2.2 for the purposes of DTR 6 Annex 1

Forward looking statements and other important information

This document contains forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results and business of Mobico Group PLC. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty and there may be subsequent variations to estimates. Mobico's actual future results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements.  Unless otherwise required by applicable law, regulation or accounting standard, Mobico does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Forward-looking statements can be made in writing but also may be made verbally by members of the management of the Group (including without limitation, during management presentations to financial analysts) in connection with this document.