British bus and rail operator, FirstGroup Plc said that its pretax profit declined 10% for the financial year ended March 2010. The company said that the decline in full year pretax profit was mainly attributable to the higher fuel costs and severe weather across the U. K. and North America.

FirstGroup also said that it expects a challenging year coming ahead in 2011. However, the company said that it remains committed to pay increased dividends to its shareholder for the year.

FirstGroup said that the profit before was reported of £179.6 million for the year ended March 31, decreasing by 10% while it was reported of £200 million in the previous corresponding period.

Total full year revenue was reported of £6.3 billion, increasing by 2% while it was reported of £6.3 billion in the previous corresponding period. FirstGroup said that the increase in full year revenue was mainly attributable to favorable foreign exchange movements in the period which contributed around the £176.3 million in the full year revenue.

FirstGroup also said that the company had saved over £200 million in the year through its cost savings programs.

FirstGroup said the new financial year is expected to remain challenging as there seems a pressure on public spending in North America in response to the uncertain global economic outlook. But the company also said that it is confident that the group will return to earnings growth in the coming year.