21st May 2015 06:48
LONDON (Alliance News) - SSP Group PLC on Thursday said it will pay its maiden interim dividend for the first half of its financial year after pretax profit rose as an improvement in its operating margin offset a slight fall in revenue.
FTSE 250-listed SSP, which operates food and drink concessions such as Upper Crust in airports and train stations, said its pretax profit in the six months to the end of March rose to GBP16.4 million, from GBP10.9 million a year earlier.
Revenue fell to GBP859.2 million from GBP865.8 million a year earlier, though 2.6% higher on a constant currency basis, as it was dragged lower by the loss of contracts and by the depreciating euro. But the decline in revenue was offset by a six-percentage-point improvement in the company's operating margin to 2.9% in the quarter, though SSP warned its margin will face a tougher comparative in the second half.
Like-for-like sales in the half were up 3%, with good performances in the UK, North America and Rest of World businesses but continued challenging conditions in some European markets, including in France and Germany owing to weak consumer spending and transport strikes.
The rise in profit meant the group declared its maiden interim dividend of 2.1 pence per share, in line with the policy outlined in its IPO.
"We delivered a good performance in the first half of 2015 with profit up 28% and like-for-like sales growth of 3.0%. We have continued to successfully implement our strategy, and are encouraged by the significant contract wins we have secured so far this year," said SSP Chief Executive Kate Swann.
"The second half of the financial year has started in line with our expectations, and whilst a degree of uncertainty always exists around passenger numbers in the short-term, we continue to be well positioned to benefit from the underlying positive trends in our markets," Swann added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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