REG - SAGA Plc - AGM Trading Update

SagaAnnouncement

20/06/2023 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20230620:nRST2114Da&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 2114D  SAGA PLC  20 June 2023

20 June 2023

Saga plc

AGM Trading Update

Growth momentum continues

 

Saga plc (Saga or the Group), the UK's specialist in products and services for
people over 50, provides the following update on trading covering the period
from 1 February 2023 to 19 June 2023.

 

Euan Sutherland, Saga Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"Four months into the financial year, we have continued to build on the
momentum in our Cruise and Travel operations, while making further progress in
our growth agenda through the development of our newer businesses. Year-end
underlying profit is expected to be well ahead of the prior year.

"We have taken strong bookings for our ocean cruises with a load factor that
is ahead of the same point in the prior year, and our River Cruise and Travel
businesses are on track to return to profitability in line with previous
guidance. In Insurance, market conditions, particularly in motor, continue to
weigh on our Group result. We have secured a valuable partnership with Bupa
that will not only improve our current private medical offering but also open
up exciting new opportunities, and we plan to launch our new pet insurance
later in the year. Meanwhile, we are also continuing with the sale process of
our Insurance Underwriting business.

"We are developing a series of new products in Saga Money and preparing for
the July launch of Saga Spaces, our new subscription-based online platform
that will offer customers social interaction and a series of online services.
At the same time, we have continued to develop Saga Media, which is performing
ahead of expectations, and have made good progress in our data and digital
strategy".

 

Group highlights

·     Growth momentum continues to build in Cruise, Travel, Money and
Media.

·     The sale process for the Group's Insurance Underwriting business
is ongoing, consistent with the ambition to reduce debt and move towards a
more capital-light model.

 

Cruise

·     The booked Ocean Cruise load factor for 2023/24 at 18 June 2023
was 79%, 7ppts ahead of the same point last year. At the same date, the per
diem was £338, which was 6% ahead of the same point in 2022.

·     The full year load factor projection is in line with previous
guidance of at least 80% and we remain on-track to deliver £40m EBITDA per
ship (excluding overheads). Due to expected seasonality in the late summer,
this will be weighted towards the second half of the year.

·     The launch of the 2024/25 Ocean Cruise season was the strongest on
record, already having secured a booked load factor of 34% and per diem of
£342 at 18 June 2023.

·     The booked River Cruise load factor for 2023/24 at the same date
was 74%, with a per diem of £293. This equated to revenue of £39m which was
37% ahead of the same point in the prior year.

 

Travel

·     The booked revenue for 2023/24, at 18 June 2023, was £150m, 37%
ahead of the same point in 2022 and largely driven by an uplift in touring.

·     Travel is on track to return to an Underlying Profit Before Tax
for the second half and full year, in line with previous guidance.

 

Insurance Broking

·     In what continued to be a challenging market, total policy sales
across all products, for the four months ended 31 May 2023, were 6% behind the
prior year.

·    The growth in sales of travel insurance continued over the same
period, with policies 6%, and revenue 22%, ahead of the prior year.

·    Private medical insurance (PMI) delivered revenue growth of 16% when
compared with the prior year on a broadly stable policy count.

·    To further enhance our PMI product, we are pleased to have secured a
new partnership with Bupa. This move will not only improve our current
proposition but also open up exciting new opportunities for a digital health
and wellbeing offer for our customers.

·    Within motor and home insurance, for the same four-month period:

o  Policy sales were 7% behind the prior year.

o  Customer retention remained strong at 85%, compared with 83% last year.

o  The margin per policy was £56, reflecting the market-wide inflationary
environment and is expected to be around £55 for the first half, before
returning to around £60 over the medium term in line with previous guidance.

 

Group liquidity

·      In the financial year to date, a further £15.8m of ocean cruise
ship debt was repaid and, after taking account of this, Available Cash, at 31
May 2023 was £149.5m.

 

Wider strategic progress

·      An ambitious expansion plan is in place for Saga and we remain on
track to deliver another year of growth in revenue and underlying profit.

·      Saga Money will launch a series of new products in the second
half of the year.

·      Saga Exceptional, through Saga Media, continues to deliver
audience numbers significantly ahead of its initial business case with more
than 2.5m visits since it was launched in late January.

·      We are planning the launch of Saga Spaces in July, a new
subscription-based online platform that will offer customers social
interaction and online services initially with a focus on health and wellbeing
and including classes, health advice and 24/7 GP access.

·      Progress in enhancing our data capabilities continues, including
actions to improve customer consent and contactability across the Group and
the development of a more personalised approach to marketing.

 

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting will be held at 11.00am today at the offices of
Numis Securities Limited, 45 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7BF.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Saga plc

Emily Roalfe, Head of Investor Relations and Treasury
         Tel: 07732 093 007

 
 
          Email: emily.roalfe@saga.co.uk (mailto:emily.roalfe@saga.co.uk)

 

Headland Consultancy

Susanna
Voyle
 
      Tel: 07980 894 557

Will Smith
 
  Tel: 07872 350 428

Tel: 020 3805 4822

Email: saga@headlandconsultancy.com (mailto:saga@headlandconsultancy.com)

 

 

Notes to editors

Saga is a specialist in the provision of products and services for people over
50. The Saga brand is one of the most recognised and trusted brands in the UK
and is known for its high level of customer service and its high quality,
award-winning products and services including cruises and holidays, insurance,
personal finance and publishing. www.saga.co.uk (http://www.saga.co.uk)

END

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  TSTBLGDLGDBDGXC