SSP Group PLC on Tuesday reported a swing to half-year profit and a rise in revenue as eyes further recovery in passenger numbers.

The London-based travel food and beverage outlet operator said revenue for the six months ended on March 31 increased by 64% to £1.32 billion from £803.2 million the year before. This was underpinned by the ‘continued recovery in passenger travel volumes’, SSP explained.

Pretax profit swung to £15.8 million from a loss of £2.3 million, as operating profit rose to £48.6 million from £26.0 million.

SSP booked a net gain on hedge of net investment in foreign operations of £31.3 million, compared to a loss of £2.5 million the year before.

The company noted high level of contract renewal activity and net new business wins running ahead of pre-Covid levels.

Basic loss per share reduced to 1.3 pence per share from 4.1p the year before.

Chief Executive Officer Patrick Coveney said: ‘This has been a strong first half for SSP, and the ongoing revenue momentum across the business means that we are now expecting our performance for 2023 to be at the upper end of our previous assumptions.’

SSP declared no interim dividend, unchanged from a year prior.

Looking ahead, the company said trading performance in recent months has been encouraging and has been driven by a ‘further recovery in passenger numbers’. It added that the recovery is being led by domestic and leisure travel across both the Air and Rail sectors.

Shares were up 3.3% at 272.80 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.

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