Travel caterer SSP sees operating profits grow by 14.6%

Travel caterer SSP has seen underlying operating profits grow by 14.6% in the six months to 31 March 2019, reaching £62.5m.

Revenue grew by 6.8% to £1.26b, with like-for-like sales up 2%. Underlying pre-tax profits stood at £54.2m for the period, up 11.3%.

Kate Swann, chief executive of SSP Group, said: "SSP has delivered another good performance in the first half of 2019, driven by strong sales growth, significant new contract openings across the world and our programme of operational improvements.

"We have continued to grow our global presence, particularly in North America and Asia, and we have further expanded our operations in Latin America. These are high-growth markets for SSP and present us with exciting opportunities. Given this positive momentum, we are today raising our expectations for net gains in the second half of the year.

"Looking forward, the second half has started well, and while a degree of uncertainty always exists around passenger numbers in the short term, we continue to be well placed to benefit from the structural growth opportunities in our markets and our programme of operational improvements."

The company has made capital investments amounting to £108.2m, due to a "significant new contract opening programme" weighted in the first half of 2019.

SSP reports 7.3% revenue growth>>