SSP profit jumps as passenger numbers grow; share buyback announced

In the year to the end of September, underlying pre-tax profit was up 10.2% to £203.2m on revenue of £2.8bn, up 9% on the previous year. Like-for-like sales grew 1.9%, down from 2.8% growth in 2018, driven by growth in passenger numbers in both air and rail.

The dividend per share was lifted 15.7% to 11.8p and the company announced a share buyback of up to £100m, which it said underpins its confidence in the business and commitment to maintaining "an efficient balance sheet".

Chief executive officer Simon Smith said: "SSP has delivered another strong performance in 2019. Operating profit was up 12% at constant currency, driven by solid like-for-like sales growth despite some external headwinds, significant new contract openings and further operational improvements.

"We continue to grow our business in North America, and have made good progress expanding in Continental Europe. In the rest of the world, we have grown in India and the Philippines, and have entered Brazil, a new market for us, with further market entries planned in Bermuda, Bahrain and Malaysia."

Smith added that the new business pipeline is strong across all the company's geographies both this year and the next.

At 0915 GMT, the shares were down 3.4% at 633p.