Half year results HY2026

Results for the six months ended 31 August 2025

Strong operating performance from Europe’s number one rail app

H1 FY2026 financial summary:

Financial highlights:

• Group net ticket sales up 8% year on year (YoY) to £3.2 billion; revenue up 2% to £235 million given previously announced commission rate reduction in UK⁶
• Adjusted EBITDA up 14% to £93 million, with cost savings more than offsetting impact from commission rate reduction⁶; operating profit up 38% to £68 million 
• Basic earnings per share of 11.6p up 54%; adjusted basic earnings per share of 12.6p, up 27%
• Adjusted free cash flow of £79 million up 2%, with working capital movements offsetting growth in adjusted EBITDA

Strategic highlights:

• Europe’s most downloaded rail app⁷; total active customer base of 27 million⁸
• Extending market leadership and deepening the competitive moat of UK’s #1 travel app⁹: 
  • Launching flagship set of data and AI-driven features to navigate rail disruption
  • Digital railcard customers up 12% to 2.5 million; share of 16-30 railcard users at 44%
  • Brand consideration score at record level, significantly above other online retailers¹⁰
• Deploying aggregation playbook on liberalising European high-speed rail routes:
  • 34% Q2 growth on SE French high-speed network¹¹; provides future aggregation gateway to €11 billion French market¹² once carrier competition expands nationwide
  • #1 rail aggregator in Spain; now evolving balance between growth and profitability
• Scaling Trainline Solutions’ sales across UK & Europe through our B2B Distribution business: 
  • B2B Distribution net ticket sales up 36%, with International sales up 55%
  • Recently expanded partnership with AMEX GBT, the world’s largest TMC
• DPAYG trial went live in September in UK - early feedback highly positive and encouraging

Further improved profitability expectations¹⁴:
In FY2026,we expect Trainline to generate: 

• Net ticket sales growth YoY of between +6% and +9%
• Revenue growth YoY of between 0% and +3%
• Adjusted EBITDA growth YoY of between +10% and +13%, up from our original guidance of +6% to +9%.

Share repurchase programme:

• Launched enhanced share repurchase programme on 22nd September 2025 of up to £150 million, following the completion of previous £75 million programme. 
• As at the end of October 2025, repurchased £15 million shares under the new £150 million programme and £215 million shares in total since launching first buyback programme in September 2023 (15% of issued share capital¹⁵)

Jody Ford, CEO of Trainline said: 
“We are already Europe’s number one most downloaded rail App and now we are expanding our business travel sales too, with Trainline Solutions Distribution business growing 55% in Europe. Each of our businesses are leaders in their respective markets with significant scope for future growth as we innovate to make travel simpler, better value and more sustainable for millions of people. Given the strength of our first half performance, we are again raising our EBITDA guidance for the full year.”

Unaudited figures:
All figures in this document are unaudited.

Footnotes

1. Please refer to the Non-GAAP Measures note for definition of net ticket sales.
2. Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) excludes share-based payment charges and exceptional items.
3. Please refer to Note 6 for definitions of adjusted basic earnings per share, basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per share.
4. Adjusted free cash flow reflects adjusted EBITDA (excluding non-cash items), capitalised expenditure, net working capital movements, and cash charges for net finance costs, taxation, lease repayments and treasury share purchases, but excludes non-recurring expenditure primarily relating to the Group’s new office with the majority expected to be incurred in H2 FY2026.
5. Constant currency (“CCY”) YoY growth calculated for International Consumer and Trainline Solutions using prior period average €/£ exchange rate applied to current year reported numbers.
6. Trainline estimates a c.0.25% net reduction in commission rate, effective 1 April 2025, resulting from a 0.5% reduction in the base B2C online sales commission rate in UK, from 5% to 4.5%, partly offset by removal of central industry costs of c.0.25% (reflected in cost of sales). These changes were first announced in March 2022 and became effective from April 2025.
7. Trainline is the number one app versus rail focused peers as per number of app downloads across Europe over the last 12 months as of August 2025, as sourced from Sensor Tower.
8. Number of customers across United Kingdom and Europe who have transacted at least once over the last 12 months.
9. Trainline is the number one app in the UK versus major travel peers as per daily average active user data in H1 FY2026, as sourced from Sensor Tower.
10. Brand consideration reflects the proportion of survey respondents, as sourced by YouGov, selecting Trainline as the brand from whom they would most likely consider buying a train ticket. 
11. Year on year growth in net ticket sales on Paris-Lyon and Paris-Marseille. 
12. OC&C analysis and internal estimates.
13. More information on Trainline’s Global API can be found here: https://tps.thetrainline.com/our-products/global-api/
14. Growth guidance figures are on a reported basis, not on a constant currency basis.
15. Calculated by reference to the original number of shares in issue at the start of Trainline’s first share buyback programme in September 2023 (481 million shares).

Read full Half Year Announcement