Mobico PLC on Tuesday said that its chief executive officer is stepping down, effective immediately from Wednesday.
Chief Executive Officer Ignacio Garat will remain in an advisory role for the next three months. The announcement comes just days after the group agreed to the $608 million sale of its North American school bus business to I Squared Capital on Friday.
Mobico is a Birmingham-based transport operator with operations in North America, Europe, the UK and North Africa.
Chair Designate Phil White will serve as executive chair on an interim basis from Thursday, until the board has found a successor.
Chief Executive Officer Ignacio Garat said: ‘The last two years have not been without their challenges as we have had to respond and adapt to a series of market headwinds. However, I’m proud of the role our 51,500 employees carry out each and every day to help support our customers and the communities they serve. It has been a privilege to work alongside the team.’
White added that within his new role, he aims to ‘accelerate the pace of operational and financial improvements, appoint a CEO for Mobico’s next chapter and to ensure that the value inherent in the Group’s portfolio is better reflected.’
In a separate statement, Mobico released its final year results on Tuesday, reporting a pretax profit of £609.3m in 2024, which swung from a loss of £120.1m in 2023.
Mobico revenue was £3.41 billion in 2024, up 10% from £3.15 billion in 2023.
The company cited ‘record’ performances of ALSA in 2024, which operates long distance, regional and urban bus and coach services across Spain, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland, France and Saudi Arabia. ALSA delivered a 14% growth in revenue in 2024 according to the company.
The firm added that continuing passenger growth in most business units, reflecting ‘a continuing ability to capture growth in markets with attractive long-term drivers’ boosted revenue in 2024.
The firm also had positive impact from price increases of £116.1 million which also drove revenue growth.
‘The group achieved good revenue growth in 2024, with adjusted profits in line with guidance, at the lower end of the range. This performance was driven by another record result from ALSA, tight cost control, and targeted pricing actions, along with a mixed performance in the UK and the impact of continuing industry challenges in German rail,’ Garat added.
The company declared no dividends for the year, down from 1.7 pence per share in 2023.
Mobico said it expects to make continued progress in revenue and adjusted operating profit in 2025.
Mobico shares fell 1.2% to 33.18 pence in London on Tuesday morning.
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