UK's SSP Group H1 revenue rises, operating margin improves

SSP

19/05/2026 07:09

Corrects pretax profit in table to GBP 7 mln, from GBP 36 mln

Overview

UK travel food operator's H1 revenue rose 6% yr/yr, driven by LFL and contract gains

Adjusted EBIT for H1 increased, with margin improvement across key regions

Company completed 60% of £100 mln share buyback, repurchasing 4% of shares

Outlook

SSP expects FY26 EPS within market consensus range of 13.6p-14.8p

Company expects FY26 free cash flow (pre-dividend, pre-buyback) of over £100m

SSP expects further progress in ROCE towards medium-term target of 20%

Result Drivers

LFL SALES GROWTH - Co said 5% like-for-like sales growth in both Q1 and Q2 was supported by strong UK trading, improving North America trends, and positive momentum in Asia

MARGIN IMPROVEMENT - Enhanced operational discipline and cost efficiencies drove margin gains, including a 70bps operating profit margin increase in Continental Europe

COST EFFICIENCY - Group-wide cost reduction initiatives, including overhead restructuring and labour productivity measures, supported margin improvement and offset inflationary pressures

Company press release: ID:nRSS8068Ea

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
H1 Revenue
Slight Beat*
GBP 1.76 bln
GBP 1.75 bln (1 Analyst)
H1 Adjusted EBIT
GBP 50 mln
H1 EBIT
GBP 63 mln
H1 Net Debt
-GBP 2.10 bln
H1 Pretax Profit
GBP 7 mln


*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 8 "strong buy" or "buy", 5 "hold" and 2 "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the restaurants & bars peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for SSP Group PLC is GBp230.00, about 49% above its May 18 closing price of GBp154.40

The stock recently traded at 10 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 13 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

 (This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)