Shares in SSP Group plc (LSE:SSPG) jumped after the operator of restaurant and café concessions in airports and stations said sales were starting to recover towards pre-Covid levels.
The FTSE 250-listed group, which operates owns brands such as Upper Crust and Ritazza, as well as franchises for Burger King, Jamie’s Deli, Starbucks and Yo Sushi, reported a £2.3mln loss before tax for the half-year to 31 March compared to a £299.7mln loss a year ago.
Sales of £803.2mln were up 213% on the previous year as pandemic travel restrictions were loosened, with the past period at 64% of sales in 2019.
Revenues in the first six weeks of the second half were up to 83% of 2019 levels, SSP said, as both the air and rail sectors saw greater traffic and with around 2,200 units, over 80% of the estate, now open and trading.
Continental Europe and North America revenues were “well above 80%” of 2019 levels, with the UK at around 82%, but the rest of the world mixed, with “very limited” travel activity in China and Hong Kong offsetting strong recoveries in the Middle East and other parts of Australasia.
Management said the recovery in sales is now “closely following our base case scenario” that was set out at the time of the £475mln rights issue in March 2021.
Full-year sales are now expected to be “in the region of £2.0bn to £2.1bn”, with the final profit outturn said to be dependent on external factors, including cost pressures, but guidance for EBITDA margin is between around 5% at the lower end of the sales range and circa 6% at the higher end.
The shares jumped 11% to 265p in early trading.