Go-Ahead says to beat its expectations

By Rania El-Gamal

LONDON (Reuters) - Bus and train operator Go-Ahead Group (GOG.L) is on track to beat its profit expectations as more people switch to public transport amid rising petrol prices, it said on Thursday.

Go-Ahead shares leapt as much as 14 percent to 1,740 pence in early trading, helping to boost other transport stocks which have suffered from concerns about their rising fuel bills.

Go-Ahead said it would beat its performance from last financial year, when it reported profit before tax and one-off items of 110.1 million pounds, driven by strong growth in both its bus and rail divisions.

Go-Ahead is currently expected to report profit before tax and one-off items of 111.2 million pounds for the year ending June 30, according to the median estimate of 10 analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.

Investec analysts said they were likely to raise their profit forecasts by around 7 percent. They are currently forecasting pretax profit of 108.1 million pounds for the year ending June 30 and 117.3 million for the year after.

Finance Director Nick Swift told Reuters that as fuel prices rise more people are shifting away from their own cars to public transport.

"That's what we expect to see -- an increase in people using public transport," he said in a telephone interview.

"Public transport is relatively cheaper... and service is getting better."