News in brief: FirstGroup ‘still has uphill climb’, Telecom Plus claims surge in customers, Bathroom supplier sees fall in profits

17 July 2013

FirstGroup today admitted there was still “significant work to do” to turn around the transport firm. UK bus passenger revenues rose 1.4% in the first quarter but Greyhound, its US coach operation, was “impacted by softness in the US economy”.

Ticket sales on its UK railways ticked up 5.5% but chief executive Tim O’Toole said: “The task of returning the group to the position of strength ... will require hard work and persistent delivery for some time to come.”

Telecom Plus claims surge in customers

Telecom Plus, the company behind Utility Warehouse, today claimed it was seeing a surge in customers who are “receptive to the idea of saving money by switching to a new utility supplier”.

Telecom Plus supplies gas, electricity, land line, mobile and broadband services to 475,000 residential and business customers. “We have seen a strong start to the current quarter,” the company said.

Bathroom supplier sees fall in profits

Samuel Heath, the bathroom firm that supplies John Lewis, saw operating profit fall to £398,000 this year, from £556,000 in the previous 12 months.

Its eponymous chairman admitted: “After satisfactory trading in April and May, orders have since tailed off. There’s scarcely a market in which we sell which doesn’t have a problem. Parts of the UK are still suffering.” But the final dividend was set at the same level as 2012 at 11.75p for the year.