SSP Group holds FY outlook after strong rise in Q1 sales

Travel food outlet operator SSP Group on Tuesday held full-year guidance after a strong rise in first-quarter sales as rail and air passenger numbers continued to recover after the Covid pandemic.

The Upper Crust and Ritazza coffee chain owner said like-for-like sales for the three months to December 31 rose 14.3% to £788m. On a total basis they were up by 21%.

“While we face into macroeconomic and political uncertainty, we believe that demand for travel will remain resilient and the industry is well set for both short-term and long-term structural growth,” SSP said in a trading update.

“The new financial year has started well, with revenue momentum being maintained and inflationary pressures on operating costs being mitigated through our ongoing productivity and pricing initiatives.”

SSP still expects like-for-like sales growth for the full year of between 6% - 10%, net contract gains in the region of 5% (with a further contribution of around 2% from acquisitions), underlying core earnings of £345-£375m and underlying operating profit within the range of £210-235m.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com