Scottish Citylink Coaches, in which the Stagecoach transport group has a 35% stake, more than doubled profits in 2007, according to accounts filed with Companies House.
Scottish Citylink Coaches, in which the Stagecoach transport group has a 35% stake, more than doubled profits in 2007, according to accounts filed with Companies House.
The company said pre-tax profits for the year ended April 27 came in at £2.64m compared with £1.28m for 2006. The profits were derived wholly from continuing operations.
The bus and coach firm, which is owned by the ComfortDelgro Corporation, also reported higher turnover for the period - £24.25m, up from £20.7m in 2006.
No dividend will be paid for 2007.
In a statement filed along with the accounts, the directors said they were pleased with the firm's performance in 2007, adding that future prospects appear to be "satisfactory".
The accounts reveal that none of the directors received any pay for their work in 2007. In 2006, they pocketed £109,000 plus £3000 in pension contributions.
Stagecoach acquired its stake in Citylink in 2005 and its chief executive, Brian Souter, is a Citylink board member.
After the Stagecoach deal, the Office of Fair Trading referred Citylink to the Competition Commission. It instructed the company to divest part of its inter-city coach services.
Last month, Citylink announced it had divested some of its inter-city services in a sale to Parks of Hamilton. Parks, a long-established smaller rival, bought a number of the Saltire Cross services, which link Aberdeen, Glasgow, Inverness and Edinburgh, to renew competition with Stagecoach's Megabus and Motorvator inter-city operations.
The commission ruled in October 2006 that Stagecoach's tie-up with Citylink might lead to higher profits and higher fares.
The companies, along with independent bus user groups, said the ruling was seriously flawed as the opposite had in fact happened.
Passengers have a choice between an express Megabus or a stopping Citylink service, and have benefited from simpler timetables, more frequent journeys and value for money fares, it was claimed.
The commission, however, confirmed its ruling last May and said a divestment of some services would renew the original competition and keep fares low.
