SSP Q1 revenues take off on back of contract gains

Travel food outlet operator SSP said first quarter group revenue increased by 7.6% on a constant currency basis as contract gains contributed 3.8%.

The company added that the recent “gilets jaunes” protests in France had impacted like-for-like sales growth in Europe.

Like-for-like sales growth added 2.5% to group revenue and the acquisition of German catering outfit Stockheim 1.3%.

“The trends in like-for-like sales growth in the first quarter of the year were similar to those seen last year in the UK, North America and the rest of the world,” the company said.

“Looking forward to the full year, our expectation for like-for-like sales growth for the group remains unchanged, at between 2% and 3%.”

Net contract gains at 3.8% were slightly ahead of expectations, driven by “significant” contributions from North America and the rest of the world.

“Looking forward to the rest of full year 2019, our latest expectation is for net gains to be a little ahead of our previous guidance of 3%, largely a reflection of new contract wins in the first quarter, particularly in North America.”

SSP said currency translations produced a 0.1% impact on revenues, which would translate to a 1% gain over the full year if maintained.

“The new financial year has started well and the pipeline of new contracts is encouraging,” SSP said.

“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.”