Broker Shore Capital reckons SSP (SSP) chief executive Kate Swann is "one of the greatest business geniuses of the present commercial era". It’s little wonder, then, that its shares fell sharply after the operator of food and beverage travel outlets announced that Ms Swann – formerly chief executive at high street chain WH Smith (SMWH) until 2013 – will step down from her current role in May. She will be replaced by current chief executive of the group's UK & Ireland division, Simon Smith, on 1 June 2019.
Ms Swann appears to be leaving the business in good shape. Like-for-like sales growth of 2.8 per cent, cost cutting and a joint venture in India helped drive a widening in the operating margin from 6.8 per cent to 7.6 per cent. Cash flow also increased by £29.2m to £90.2m, funding a year of record investment in the business. In fact, higher capital expenditure was largely the result of a 5.1 per cent increase in net contract gains. News of a £150m special dividend also accompanied these full-year results, in the hope it will underpin confidence in the business at this time.
Analysts at JP Morgan Cazanove expect EPS of 28.1p during the year to September 2019, compared with 24.7p in FY2018.
| SSP (SSPG) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 635p | MARKET VALUE: | £2.95bn | |
| TOUCH: | 634-635p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 747p | LOW: 579p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.6%* | PE RATIO: | 26 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 81p** | NET DEBT: | 73% | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 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 |
| 2017 | 2.38 | 145 | 19.5 | 8.1 |
| 2018 | 2.56 | 183 | 24.9 | 10.2 |
| % change | +8 | +26 | +28 | +26 |
| Ex-div: | 28 Feb | |||
| Payment: | 29 Mar | |||
| *Excludes special dividends **Includes intangible assets of £731m, or 158p a share | ||||
