20th Nov 2019 08:48
(Alliance News) - SSP Group PLC on Wednesday reported high single-digit revenue growth in its most recently-ended financial year, thanks to improved passenger numbers and new contract wins.
SSP operates catering and retail brands at over 125 airports and 270 railway stations around the world, including Upper Crust and Ritazza.
The London-headquartered company said pretax profit grew by 7.8% in the year to the end of September to GBP197.2 million from GBP182.9 million reported a year prior, as revenue increased by 9.0% to GBP2.79 billion from GBP2.56 billion.
Like-for-like sales for the year were up 1.9%, driven by growth in passenger numbers, both in air and rail, the FTSE 250-listed company noted, with net contract gains up by 5.6%.
SSP declared a final dividend of 6.0 pence a share, bringing the full year payout to 11.8p, up 16% year-on-year. In addition, the company has launched a GBP100.0 million share buyback programme, "underpinning its confidence in the business and commitment to maintain an efficient balance sheet".
SSP said the programme will start immediately and will end no later than in a year. The sole purpose of the programme is to reduce the company's issued share capital, SSP said.
"The new business pipeline is strong across all our geographies both this year and next, and we've announced a GBP100 million share buyback which further demonstrates our confidence in the future of the business," said Chief Executive Simon Smith.
Looking ahead, Smith added: "The new 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 placed to benefit from the structural growth opportunities in our markets and to create value for our shareholders."
SSP shares were trading 3.1% lower in London on Wednesday morning ta 635.00p each.
By Evelina Grecenko; [email protected]
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