UK/INTERNATIONAL. Leading travel food specialist SSP Group has issued a trading update for the first quarter of its financial year (1 October to 31 December), with revenues climbing +6.1%. On a constant currency basis, Q1 revenue rose by +7.5%, comprising like-for-like sales growth of +1.2% and net contract gains of +6.3%.
SSP has also announced the proposed acquisition of Station Food in Germany, as reported today. Once fully operational in 2021, Station Food will add 28 new food & beverage units at railway stations in Germany and is expected to contribute approximately £10 million to SSP’s revenue in 2020.
Overall like-for-like sales growth in Q1 was “in line with expectations”, with external headwinds noted in the second half of last year continuing into the first quarter of this year, said SSP.
Like-for-like sales growth in the UK and North America remained robust, driven by increasing passenger numbers. Like-for-like sales in Continental Europe have been affected by the transport strikes across France during December. Like-for-like sales growth in the Rest of the World included, as expected, a full quarter’s impact of the disruption in Hong Kong, but benefited from an improving trend in India. Expectations for like-for-like sales growth for the full year remains unchanged, at just below +2%.
Net contract gains remained strong in the first quarter, at +6.3%, driven by new contract openings last year. These included: in Continental Europe, at Montparnasse Railway station, the new motorway service stations in Germany and the Starbucks units in railway stations across the Netherlands; in North America, at Seattle, Oakland and LaGuardia airports; and in the Rest of the World, at Cebu Airport in the Philippines and Bangalore Airport in India.
Including the acquisition of Station Food, SSP’s expectations for net gains for the full year have increased to around +5%.
SSP said: “Looking forward to the full year, we remain confident of delivering another year of strong growth, in line with our expectations. While a degree of uncertainty always exists around passenger numbers in the short term, we continue to benefit from the structural growth opportunities in our markets and to create further shareholder value.”
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The company also organises the annual Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) Conference & Awards. FAB 2020 will be held in Istanbul on 23 and 24 June. Istanbul Airport will host the event, which will be a celebration not only of the best in international airport dining but also of Turkish cuisine and culture. FAB 2020 will be supported strongly by Tum & Ictur, the concessionaire managing 34,000sq m of food & beverage space at Istanbul Airport.
