Eurostar passenger numbers up but World Cup dampens revenue growth
Eurostar has announced a two per cent rise in passenger numbers in the first half of 2014 but admitted revenues have suffered from the World Cup effect.
Sales revenues showed modest growth, rising 0.5 per cent to £456m but suffered as a result of families postponing holidays until after the final game of the Fifa competition.
The cross-channel train operator, which has carried over 145m passengers since 1994, said that revenues had also been hit by "the convergence" of UK's Easter and May holidays, which meant fewer people travelled.
The number of business passengers rose by six per cent, however, perhaps indicating what chief executive Nicolas Petrovic called "a more benign trading environment" which was showing "encouraging signs of economic stability in France as well as the UK".
"These more favourable conditions have helped deliver strong growth in business travel across our markets," he added.