HS2 train builder Alstom's shares go off the rails as its finances are hit by project delays

HS2 train builder Alstom’s shares go off the rails as its finances are hit by project delays

Updated: 22:01 BST, 5 October 2023

Delays: Alstom has been contracted to build trains for HS2

Shares in Alstom, the French firm contracted to build trains for HS2, tanked as finances have been hit by project delays.

The company, which is listed in Paris but has factories in Derby and Crewe, expects up to £650million to flow out of the business this year. The update sent the firm’s shares down 38pc.

It blamed its woes on project delays including the UK’s Aventra programme, which involves building electric trains, and it comes a day after ministers scrapped the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2 to save £36billion.

Alstom’s £2billion deal, with Hitachi, to build and maintain trains for the first phase of HS2 is not affected by the cancellation.

It cited ‘weaker than expected’ orders, a tight supply chain and a rise in inventories as reasons for the cash flow issues.

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Analysts at Deutsche Bank expect Alstom to end the year with net debt of £2.6billion.

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