Knutsford Express Services Ltd indicated that for the first quarter ending August 31, the company is reaping the results of new additions to its schedule in the form of higher revenue flows.

Revenue climbed 21 per cent for the company from $143 million in the same period last year to $173 million this year.

Directors said that the higher passenger flows resulted from the decision to add more trips with the completion of the North-South Highway and the addition of four luxury coaches to it fleet. These included non-stop trips between Kingston and Montego Bay.

“The expanded service schedule… has allowed us to increase customer comfort and convenience,” directors said, noting in the quarter’s financials that although profit remained flat year-on-year, this was due to expenses involved in improving fleet and adding to human resources.

Expenses increased by $30 million, resulting in net profit of $36 million, when compared to $35.7 million in first quarter 2015. The money, the directors said, was mainly spent on adding to parts inventory, supplies and human resources to support the expanded routes.

The company closed the quarter with reduced cash on hand of $39.9 million, down from $66.87 million last year.

Assets increased in value by 35.5 per cent to $462 million in August, coming from $341 million in August 2015. For this first quarter, the annualised return on average equity was four per cent and earnings per share was $0.36.

The company’s stock, listed on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), traded at $23.20 per unit on Friday, a 141.67 per cent increase in value year over year.