Buses drive profit rise at Stagecoach

Busier UK buses plus more passengers in the US drove Stagecoach to post an 8 per cent rise in full-year profit to £218.9m.

Profit at its North American bus business almost doubled to £49.9m.

Stagecoach hiked its full-year dividend by 10 per cent to 8.6p.

Martin Griffiths, the chief executive, said: "It is no coincidence that we have simultaneously delivered good financial results … value-for-money travel and high customer satisfaction."