FirstGroup says UK rail, U.S. shuttle bus keep it on track

LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - FirstGroup (LSE: FGP.L - news) said it expected to meet its forecasts for the current financial full year after strong third-quarter performances from its rail operations in Britain and its shuttle bus business in the United States.

That record offset a fall in demand for travel on Greyhound buses in the U.S. in the period since Oct (HKSE: 3366.HK - news) . 1, as customers took advantage of the fall in the price of fuel and opted to drive instead.

Analysts currently expect FirstGroup to post pretax profit of 152.70 million pounds ($232 million) for the year to March 2015.

The company suffered a series of setbacks in its UK rail business last year, bidding for five contracts without winning one.

However, it said its existing major rail contract, First (Shanghai: 603806.SS - news) Great Western, grew strongly, posting an underlying passenger revenue rise of 7.3 percent in the period, and it was negotiating with the government for a new contract to run it until 2019.

($1 = 0.6592 pounds) (Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton)