The mushrooming availability of meals, snacks and drinks at the world's airports and train stations is not passing passengers by - at least if SSP 's (SSPG) results are anything to go by. The owner of brands including Millie's Cookies and Caffè Ritazza saw revenues rise in each of its four divisions on a constant currency basis, though a weak euro hit reported numbers from continental Europe.
Net contract gains contributed 0.6 points to the overall 4.3 per cent rise in revenues on a constant currency basis, as the loss of its on-board UK rail contract fell out of the year-on-year comparison. New contracts included major deals with Stansted and Nice airports and the acquisition of 32 bakery outlets in Germany. The small but fast-growing North American division also performed well.
Chief financial officer Jonathan Davies said several self-help measures - slashing the number of suppliers, simplifying ranges and reducing wastage - helped boost underlying gross margins by 30 basis points. He acknowledged that the Sharm el-Sheikh air crash had hit numbers in its small Egyptian business, and that there had "definitely been a weakening in sales" in French and Belgian rail stations since the Paris attacks, but remained confident the trade would return.
Following upgrades, analysts at Numis now expect pre-tax profits of £91m in the 2015-16 financial year, leading to EPS of 13.6p, compared to £82m and 12.2p in FY2015.
| SSP GROUP (SSPG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 305p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.4bn | |
| TOUCH: | 304-305p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 318p | LOW: 242p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.4% | PE RATIO: | 27 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 57p* | NET DEBT: | 110% | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1.72 | -6.7 | -1.1 | nil |
| 2012 | 1.74 | 14.4 | 0.0 | nil |
| 2013 | 1.83 | 16.2 | -0.5 | nil |
| 2014 | 1.83 | -13.5 | -10.7 | nil |
| 2015 | 1.83 | 76.8 | 11.2 | 4.3 |
| % change | +0 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: 18 Feb Payment: 16 Mar *Includes intangible assets of £632m, or 133p a share | ||||
