Serco ready for London Cycle Hire Scheme after profits jump

The boss of Serco, which is running the London Cycle Hire Scheme, today said people were showing more interest than had been expected.

The support services firm is beginning to receive the 600 bikes and 400 docking stations needed. It has a six-year, £140 million contract to design and run the London Cycle Hire Scheme.

Chris Hyman, Serco chief executive, said today: "As we build the platforms around town, people are getting very excited. The level of interest is higher that we'd predicted. It's an exciting project, and the work is on track."

Serco, which also runs the Docklands Light Railway, manages traffic lights in central London, the City and the East End, and operates environmental services, posted a 30% rise in full-year pre-tax profit to £177.1 million.

That helped it become the biggest riser on the FTSE, up 36p to 557½p. It hiked the final dividend by a quarter to 6.25p a share and said its order book rose 5% in 2009 to £17.1 billion.

Hyman said he expected to win even more contracts after the election. "We don't have a business that relies on politicians to make decisions. We speak with civil servants, and they're under such budget pressures that we're going to get more opportunities."

Serco singled out its prisons arm for success, after winning contracts to run several new premises.