Leo Express made a profit of around €2.5m ($US 110,000) after taxes and Ebitda reached Koruna 90m. The operator is on course to exceed this figure in 2019, with first half Ebitda of Koruna 62m, a 58% increase compared with the first six months of 2018. Sales reached Koruna 800m last year and Leo Express expects to surpass the Koruna 1bn mark this year. Growth has been driven by the launch of Prague - Krakow services, better connections in Germany, and return to service of one of the operator’s five class 480 Flirt EMUs. The train had been sidelined after sustaining accident damage several years ago. From December 2019 Leo Express will begin operating Public Service Obligation (PSO) train services under contracts with Czech regions. The operator also expects to receive its first EMU from CRRC at the end of the year and is preparing to order more rolling stock. The company is bidding for regional contracts in Olomouc and Prague and is in discussions with European manufacturers regarding the acquisition of up to 29 dual-voltage EMUs for these routes.
