It's been an exceptional year for rail and bus operator Go-Ahead (GOG), but good news has come with its fair share of challenges. In a joint venture with French transport group Keolis, Go-Ahead took on the Govia Thameslink Rail (GTR) franchise last September, integrating its Southern and Gatwick Express routes into the Thameslink and Great Northern networks in July after the period-end. Winning such a big contract was seen as a coup at the time - but the associated costs have also been unexpectedly high.
Overall, adjusted operating profit was slightly ahead of expectations, up 11.1 per cent to £115m. But this ignores £8.8m of integration costs linked to the transformation of GTR and a £4.9m goodwill impairment on one of its bus businesses, which hit the statutory numbers.