National Express confident on 2015 after first-half profit rises

LONDON (Reuters) - British transport company National Express said it was on course to meet its expectations for the year, after growing operating profit 4.5 percent in the first half. The company, which operates rail services in Britain as well as school buses in the United States, said excluding rail and Middle East bid costs underlying operating profit rose to 93.5 million pounds on a constant currency basis. National Express raised its interim dividend by 10 percent to 3.685 pence and said it was confident on future growth after winning additional German rail contracts and launching a bus service in Bahrain. (Reporting by Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle)