Hull Trains had doubled its profits in the year immediately before services were suspended as the first coronavirus lockdown hit.
But net assets of £5.7 million at the end of March 2020 turned to liabilities of £4.8 million by the time the country fully re-emerged from protective measures, leaving parent company First Group Plc funding the business.
It continues to do so, with support pledged for at least the next 12 months, allowing the open access operator to prepare its annual report and results on a going concern basis.
The publication of the accounts comes less than a month after the immediate priority of a return to profitability was stressed as the 21st anniversary of the direct services to London was marked.
New managing director David Gibson is charged with delivery, with much at stake on how the pandemic evolves - and a strong focus on the next five months.
The year before the outbreak saw turnover up from £30.7 million to £32.4 million, with profit up from £1.2 million to £2.4 million.
It was the 12 months that saw the first introduction of the Hitachi Paragon fleet, with the business entering the year “stabilising and managing“ unreliable rolling stock that had seen mass cancellations in earlier years.
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When Covid-19 struck, Hull Trains was the only company that could guarantee every service was on a “brand-new world-class” train. It also brought a further 5,000 passenger capacity to the rails on a weekly basis.
However, come April 1, no services were running with the majority of staff furloughed as it stemmed operating losses.
Three of the five new trains were placed into storage, with 26 jobs losses, while consultation into the closure of a defined benefit pension scheme is ongoing as part of “key actions on cost mitigation”.
In the report accompanying the results, Andrew James, director, said: “As an open-access operator Hull Trains can respond to passenger demand quickly and easily by reinstating services or coupling units to strengthen existing services. This responsiveness will suit customers' needs as the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt passenger travel. However, Hull Trains remains optimistic that its direct service from East Yorkshire to London will play an important part of the region’s economic recovery in the coming years.
“The company has been loss-making since the inception of the coronavirus pandemic with revenue at the end of the first half of [the current] financial year returning to circa 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. Further revenue recovery is needed over the second half of the year to return the company to a breakeven position.”
Ahead of the results being signed off at the start of the month, Hull Trains announced it was setting record service levels for December.
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