The Go-Ahead Group has admitted that it may be forced to seek taxpayer aid to support its Southern rail franchise.

The group - whose annual results yesterday saw it reveal profit before tax of £94.2m, down £3.4m from 2011 figures - owns Southern rail services which provides commuters with services between London and the south coast.

Chief executive David Brown insisted yesterday that his company was doing everything it could to avoid appealing to Treasury coffers but said the 'jury is out' on whether it could avoid drawing on taxpayer funds in a year's time as the economy continued to affect performance, The Telegraph reports.

Southern's passenger growth was only 1.2% - almost half the rate of the previous year and propped up by ticket price hikes which were above inflation. The growth rate was slower than initially forecast by the Newcastle-based firm when it bid for the contract in 2009.

Under the terms of the contract, Go-Ahead is allowed to claim government support if it continues to underperform and fails to achieve forecast targets.

The group's warning of a possible appeal to government follows a year in which the premium it pays government to run the franchise, almost doubled to £106.9m.

Go-Ahead's bus division delivered sterling profits outside London, recording the highest ever passenger numbers with a £70.2m profit - 4.6% higher than the previous year.