The owner of
Shares are down over 50 per cent amid a nearbillion pound debt pile and rising costs across the business. In particular, the transport firm's North American school bus segment has sucked out cash and is now likely to be flogged off in an effort to cut spending.
Mobico also saw shares plummet in the first quarter of the year as it was forced to delay publication of its full-year results twice due to accounting issues in its German rail business.
Short sellers have been circling Mobico for months. They include
The three hedge funds have an aggregate short of 2.6 per cent.
Mobico declined to comment. The bets underscore the challenge facing the company, whose chief financial officer
While demand across its business, particularly in
A deal for the North American bus business has yet to come through and analysts have been downbeat on the value this could deliver, although it will undoubtedly play a critical role in Mobico's turnaround plans.
Ahead of its full-year results, forecasts for adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were downgraded from between £175m and £185m, to between £160m and £175m.
And investor confidence may fall further this week as Mobico looks set for a relegation from the
Shares closed down 0.74 per cent.
(c) 2024 City A.M., source