LONDON, UK – SSP Group plc (“SSP” or “the Group”), a leading operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide, issues a Trading Update for the first four months of its 2023 financial year, covering the period from 1 October 2022 to 31 January 2023. The new financial year has started well with Group sales of £871m (S$1 billion) representing a strengthening of performance to 103% of 2019 levels and with revenues tracking above 2019 levels in North America, Continental Europe and the Rest of the World.
“This revenue performance includes the benefit from net contract gains as we accelerate the mobilisation of our significant pipeline, in addition to price increases compared to the same period in 2019” said the company.
The encouraging revenue performance has been driven by a further recovery in passenger numbers, led by strong leisure travel demand over the extended holiday season. This momentum continued through the autumn and into the winter, demonstrating a resilience to the broader pressures on consumer spending. Business and commuter travel also continued to recover, albeit at a slower pace.
The company has continued to make progress extending and renewing contracts as well as winning new business, including in North America as well as in India, Malaysia and Thailand, to augment their strong pipeline.
Approximately two thirds of sales from net new business openings in secured pipeline are expected to come from the North America and Rest of World regions.
SSP Group: Regional Performance
“In North America, the strong revenue growth reflected the ongoing recovery in domestic air travel, despite the impact of flight cancellations and weather-related disruption in December and January. The performance included a significant contribution from net contract gains, as we continue to grow our business in conjunction with our joint venture partners.
In Continental Europe, most markets performed well, boosted by an extended holiday season which stretched into the autumn, across both the Air and Rail sectors. In the Rest of the World, revenues continued to recover well, including an exceptional performance in India, where revenues in our joint venture (TFS) more than doubled year-on-year.
Australia, Thailand and the Middle East also performed particularly well. Since the re-opening of the Chinese borders in early January, passenger numbers in China and Hong Kong have now started to recover, albeit from very low levels. In the UK, the overall sales performance reflected both the seasonally higher weighting of rail within the business and the impact of an increased frequency of industrial action across the rail network during December and January. However, the UK Air business maintained its strong momentum”.
Revenue performance by region for the four months to 31 January 2023:
