It has been a long wait for Firstgroup shareholders to get their hands on dividend cash – four years to be precise.

Meanwhile investors in its rival transport group Stagecoach, are seeing a five per cent dividend yield.

So it wasn’t a huge surprise to see Firstgroup chairman Wolfhart Hauser face down a shareholder who questioned the strategy of once again withholding a payout as the group keeps working to improve its net cash position.

Reassuringly for Mr Hauser, and his 11-strong board, there was much support in the room for its strategy.

Analysts have not been so supportive. After the group’s share price fell six per cent in a single session in May upon news that the dividend would not be reinstated, Shore Capital said reinstatement was “long overdue”.

In fact, Firstgroup hasn’t paid out to shareholders since a rights issue in 2013. Its cash generation in the last financial year improved to £147 million from £36m, net debt is down nine per cent, but remains at £1.3 billion.

Mr Hauser sternly pointed out that reinstating the dividend had not been an objective for the year, so even though all objectives were met, it couldn’t have been assumed a dividend would follow. Focusing on creating sustainable net cash is the board’s priority, he said.

Given the decent share performance in the last year (it is up more than twenty per cent) the improvements in the cash position, and chief executive Tim O’Toole’s assertion that Firstgroup should be a dividend paying stock, it would seem investors need only be patient for a little longer.