Upper Crust owner SSP set for earnings leap after strong summer trading
Upper Crust owner SSP has said it is on track for annual earnings to jump by nearly a third after strong summer trading and a marked pick-up across its UK business.
The group, which specialises in running food outlets at travel locations, said UK and Ireland like-for-like sales surged 9 per cent over the three months to the end of September thanks to buoyant demand for air travel and a reduction in rail disruption as strikes have eased off.
It said group-wide like-for-like sales lifted 6 per cent over the quarter.
The strong fourth-quarter trading is set to see the group deliver earnings of around £210m to £220m – a 30 per cent rise year on year on a constant currency basis – and 17 per cent increase in revenues to about £3.5bn.
SSP Group chief executive Patrick Coveney said: “There has been good trading momentum across our business throughout the fourth quarter.”
He added that the group has seen a “material improvement in the performance of our UK business”.
“Overall, this year, we expect the group to deliver a significant increase in year-on-year profitability and margins,” he said.
But the group has faced “challenges” across its business in Continental Europe, with earnings set to be lower in the region.
It reported like-for-like sales growth of 3 per cent in Europe, dragged lower by a weak performance in France, where it saw lower-than-expected demand during the Paris Olympics, while German trading was hit by weak demand in motorway service stations over summer.
Mr Coveney said: “We have had challenges in some parts of our Continental European business, which we are addressing through a series of actions that will build margins.”