The punctuality of train services might be hit and miss, but commuters and travellers can still rely on getting something to eat and drink before they travel. SSP Group (SSPG), which owns many of the franchises gracing the concourses of rail stations and airports - including Upper Crust, Ritazza and Starbucks - saw sales jump 5 per cent on a constant currency basis last year. This outpaced the rate of growth in the prior financial year, although like-for-like growth of 3 per cent this term was slightly lower than the 3.7 per cent last year. But operating margins rose 70 basis points, compared with 50 basis points in the previous year, showing that better buying practices and recipe changes as part of its cost-cutting programme are working.
Net contract gains were also up 1.7 per cent, well ahead of last year's 0.6 per cent growth. The US and the 'rest of world' division performed strongly here, although the latter still suffered a 41 per cent drop in operating profit due to the continued impact on trading of the October 2015 Sharm-el-Sheikh bombing and high pre-opening costs for new Dubai and Beijing airport sites.
Analysts at Numis expect pre-tax profit of £132m for the year to September 2017, leading to EPS of 18p, up from £108m and 15.5p in FY2016.
| SSP GROUP (SSPG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 364p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.73bn | |
| TOUCH: | 364-365p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 366p | LOW: 260p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.5% | PE RATIO: | 24 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 74p* | NET DEBT: | 83% | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 2016 | 1.99 | 106 | 15.2 | 5.4 |
| % change | +9 | +38 | +36 | +26 |
Ex-div: 2 Mar Payment: 31 Mar *Includes intangible assets of £701m, or 148p a share | ||||
