Will a general recovery help Stagecoach?
Balance sheet still a cause for concern  A slow return to pre-Covid journey numbers  A thicket of adjustments, discontinued operations, separately disclosed items and one-off charges made the full-year results for Stagecoach (SGC) almost incomprehensible. On paper, at least, the balance sheet moved back into positive shareholder assets of 61m, though these were effectively comprised of goodwill and intangible assets. The overall impression was that while passenger numbers will surely recover, management admitted it would be some time before demand for our public transport services returns to pre-Covid levels. Which is fortunate, in a way, as, judging by the state of the books, management will spend most of the intervening time in a staring contest with its banks.