20 May 2025                                                                                                             LEI: 213800QGNIWTXFMENJ24

2025 HALF YEAR RESULTS

H1 PERFORMANCE IN LINE WITH EXPECTATIONS; FULL YEAR GUIDANCE MAINTAINED

SSP Group plc, a leading operator of restaurants, bars, cafes and other food and beverage outlets in travel locations across 38 countries, announces its financial results for the half year ended 31 March 2025.

	HY 2025	HY 2024	Change at actual FX rates	Change at constant FX rates6
Underlying Pre-IFRS 161,3
Revenue	£1,661m	£1,517m	9%	12%
EBITDA2	£114m	£106m	8%	13%
Operating profit	£45m	£38m	20%	31%
Operating profit margin	2.7%	2.5%	20bp	40bp
Earnings/(Loss) per share	(0.4)p	(1.0)p	0.6p
Dividend per share	1.4p	1.2p	17%
Free cash flow4	£(161)m	£(240)m	£79m
Net debt5	£(764)m	£(619)m	£(145)m
Net debt/EBITDA	2.2x	2.1x	(0.1)x
IFRS
Underlying operating profit Operating profit	£68m £15m	£58m £58m	17% (74)%
(Loss)/profit before tax	£(37)m	£13m	£(50)m
Loss per share	(7.7)p	(1.3)p	(6.4)p
Net debt5	£(1,907)m	£(1,633)m	£(274)m

 

Group Financial Highlights (underlying pre-IFRS 16, unless otherwise stated)

·    Revenue of £1.7bn, up 9% at actual exchange rates and 12% on a constant currency basis, with like-for-like sales growth of 5%

·   Operating profit of £45m, up 20% at actual exchange rates and 31% on a constant currency basis, in line with expectations. Operating margin accretion of 40bps (on a constant currency basis)

·    Loss per share of 0.4p; improved in comparison to loss of 1.0p per share in the prior year, with stronger operating profit partially offset by higher finance charges  

·    Free cash outflow of £(161)m, reflecting SSP's usual trading seasonality and the second half weighting of sales, profit and working capital, as well as the first half phasing of capital spend

·   Seasonally higher net debt of £764m and leverage of 2.2x at end of March 2025. Second half cash generation expected to reduce leverage towards the lower end of the medium-term target range of 1.5-2.0x by year end

·    Interim dividend of 1.4p per share, an increase of 0.2p per share year-on-year

·   Statutory IFRS underlying operating profit of £68m compared to £58m in the prior year. IFRS statutory operating profit was £15m, down 74% compared to the prior year primarily due to non-cash IT transformation costs as well as recognition of impairments in France and Italy

·    Statutory IFRS loss per share of 7.7p, compared to a loss of 1.3 per share in the prior year, primarily as a result of the costs noted above

Divisional Performance Highlights (underlying pre-IFRS 16, on a constant currency basis)

·   North America: Sales up 13% reflecting a strong contribution from net gains and acquisitions of 11%; operating margin down 90bps YoY, but improved YoY after adjusting for the release of Covid provisions in the prior year

·    Continental Europe: Sales up 3% with operating margin enhancement of 80bps YoY; significant change programme underway in France and Germany to improve profitability; today re-affirming plan to build operating margin from 1.5% of sales in FY24 to c.3% this year and c.5% in the medium-term

·    UK: Sales up 9% including strong like-for-like sales growth of 8%, driving operating profit margin enhancement of 120bps YoY

·    APAC & EEME: Sales up 38%, including like-for-like sales growth of 13% and a 24% contribution from acquisitions; operating margin strong at 11.8%, but down 210bps YoY as anticipated, principally due to the deconsolidation of the AAHL joint venture in India

Outlook

·    Full year guidance maintained, notwithstanding a greater level of macroeconomic uncertainty. Planning scenarios remain: revenues of £3.7-3.8bn, operating profit of £230-260m, EPS of 11.5-13.5p on a constant currency basis. If current FX rates were to be maintained throughout the rest of the financial year, EPS would be between 11p and 13p

·    Group LFL sales growth of 5% in first six weeks of H2 with strong LFL in APAC & EEME and the UK offsetting the recent impact of reduced passenger numbers in North America, following geopolitical events

·    IPO of our business in India, TFS, has received 'in principle' regulatory clearance, with marketing and investor education progressing well, and is now targeted to complete this Summer

Accelerating programme to drive profitability, capital discipline and returns

·    Clear and specific actions to: turn around profitability of Continental Europe, generate cost efficiencies, accelerate returns from investments and increase cash generation

·    Launch of substantial group-wide overhead cost reduction programme to be delivered through the second half to underpin delivery of margin and returns progression in FY26 

·    Further tightening of capital expenditure as we build returns; now planning for capital spend in FY25 of less than £230m, while maintaining underlying net gains target of c.4%; planning for capex spend in FY26 of less than £200m, driven by a lower level of renewals and growth capex consistent with our medium-term guidance for net gains of 2-4%

·   Strong cash generation anticipated in the second half would leave us on track to consider a share buyback programme towards the end of the calendar year

·    Performance of recent acquisitions strong and returns in line with or ahead of expectations

 

Commenting on the results, Patrick Coveney, CEO of SSP Group, said:

"We recognise the importance of driving enhanced performance, and we are executing against our agenda to achieve this. Our accelerated actions include a decisive turnaround plan for our Continental European business, a programme to deliver the full benefits of recent strategic and capital investments and a further step up in initiatives to deliver cost efficiencies. As a result, notwithstanding the higher level of macroeconomic uncertainty, we are maintaining our full-year guidance.

"Given the resilience of our business and the strong foundations that we have built in growing food travel markets across the world, we continue to see significant opportunities for SSP to drive compounding growth and to build margins and returns in the medium and long term."

 

 

CURRENT YEAR OUTLOOK

Current trading

Group like-for-like sales during the first six weeks of the second half of the year (from 1 April to 11 May) grew by 5% on a constant currency basis, including a benefit from the later timing of Easter. In APAC & EEME, LFL sales of 14% in the period reflected ongoing growth in passenger numbers across the region. In the UK, LFL sales in the period were 10% including a modest impact in our M&S units as a result of their well-reported systems issues. In Continental Europe, LFL sales in this period grew by 2%, whilst in North America LFL sales fell by (2)% following recent geopolitical events.

 

Planning assumptions

Recent geopolitical events have led to a heightened level of uncertainty across some of our travel markets, in particular in North America. While we believe that our geographically diversified business model means that SSP is more resilient to fluctuations in travel and consumer spending than other consumer sectors, both in terms of our operational flexibility and traveller behaviour, we believe it is prudent to plan for a degree of ongoing uncertainty of demand through the second half.

In this environment, we are accelerating our programme of initiatives to drive improved margins, cash conversion and investment returns. We believe that these initiatives, in combination with sustained, strong demand in many regions of the group, leave us well-positioned to mitigate the current uncertainty. As a result, we are maintaining our full-year guidance.

We continue to plan for revenue to be in the region of £3.7-3.8bn with a corresponding underlying pre-IFRS 16 operating profit within the range of £230-260m and EPS of between 11.5p and 13.5p (all on a constant currency basis). As usual, the seasonality of travel means that the majority of our profitability for the year is set to be delivered in the second half.

If the current spot rates (as of 13 May 2025) were to continue through 2025, we would expect a negative currency translation impact on revenue and operating profit of 1.9% and 4.2%, compared to the average rates used for 2024, which is the basis of the constant currency guidance above. At today's FX rates this would result in EPS for the full year of between 11p and13p.

 

 

MEDIUM-TERM OUTLOOK

We expect that global demand for travel is well set for long-term structural growth. In the medium-term, we expect to generate sustainable growth and enhanced shareholder returns as follows:

Medium Term Financial Framework (2026-28)
Revenue	Total sales growth of c.5-7% p.a.
	LFL growth of c.3% p.a.
	Net gains of 2-4% p.a.
Operating profit margin	Growth of 20-30bps on average p.a.
Minority interest	Growth in line with North America and APAC & EEME operating profit
Earnings per share	Sustainable double-digit growth
Capital expenditure	Renewals and maintenance capex at c.4% of sales
	Growth capex aligned to net gains
Group ROCE	Increasing from 17.7% in FY24
Dividend	Target payout ratio of c.30-40%
Leverage (Net debt: EBITDA)	Balance sheet deleveraging, with surplus cash to be returned to shareholders in line with our capital allocation framework

PLANNED IPO OF TRAVEL FOOD SERVICES

On 10 December 2024, we announced the planned initial public offering of Travel Food Services (TFS), in its home market of India. Full details can be found in the press release here. Since that date, a period of market and investor education has progressed well, and in late April, we received 'in principle' clearance to proceed with the IPO from SEBI, the Indian market regulator.

Given recovering Indian stock market conditions, completion of the IPO process is now targeted for the Summer. In advance of completion, we plan to publish an updated prospectus. As previously disclosed, to maintain SSP's control and consolidation of TFS, we plan to make a purchase of additional shares in TFS (representing 1.01% of TFS' issued share capital) at a value referenced to the IPO price. Further updates will be given in due course, as appropriate.

CURRENT YEAR PRIORITIES

As we set out in December, we have a streamlined agenda with a focus on driving the expected returns from the elevated levels of recent investment, and on driving profitability, particularly within Continental Europe.

Our four key priorities are:

1.    Strong, sustainable organic growth

o  Delivering sustainable growth, through strong like-for-like sales and profitable organic growth, building on the attractive positions we have built in the structurally growing air market

2.    Building profitability in Continental Europe

o  Actions to build regional operating profit margin from 1.5% in FY24 to c.3% this year and c.5% in the medium-term

3.    Further cost efficiencies

o  Identifying and initiating a rolling programme of operating cost reductions across the Group, with a focus on gross margin optimisation, supply chain and procurement, labour productivity, overhead efficiency and addressing 'above market' concession fees; accelerating this work from the second half of this year with the commencement of a programme to simplify and scale back group support costs  

4.    Driving returns from recent investments and future cash generation

o  Driving returns on previous investments and reducing our overall capital expenditure, benefitting from lower levels of contract renewals and a more normalised pace of new business development, consistent with our medium-term outlook for 2-4% net contract gains. Furthermore, as previously communicated, we will deprioritise M&A in the near term. This will lead to strengthened cash generation and reduced leverage, which would leave us on track to consider a share buyback programme towards the end of the calendar year

In the first half, we have made good progress against these priorities and have set ourselves up for accelerated momentum into the second half, as follows:

1.    STRONG, SUSTAINABLE ORGANIC GROWTH

We compete in markets that offer attractive structural growth, driven by favourable demographics and demand for travel, supported by strong supply-side investment in the travel sector. Our strategy has been to optimise these opportunities through a combination of growing in the right channels, markets, and formats and by deploying SSP's proven operating capabilities and competitive advantages.

We have focused on increasing our presence in North America and APAC & EEME, where we have significant market share opportunities, and where we see an opportunity to expand the business while delivering strong returns on capital. We have been more selective in our organic growth in the UK and Continental Europe, which are more mature markets.  

Across all markets, we have continued to build on our capabilities to drive like-for-like sales growth, focusing on enhancing our proposition to meet customer demands and embracing the benefits of digitisation. Innovative new concepts include Shelby & Co, our new Peaky Blinders themed unit at Birmingham Airport, Monty's Diner at Liverpool John Lennon Airport in the UK, Gourmet Focus Group at Hong Kong International Airport and Boulton & Watt at JFK Airport in America.

In North America, we continue to strengthen our competitive position, organically growing our market presence to 57 airports from 51 airports a year ago. Our presence now spans approximately half of the busiest 80 airports (airports with more than 1.5 million annual passenger enplanements). In the last six months, we have secured further key new business wins, including at Orlando and Hartford Airports in the US, which will further increase scale and efficiencies in this important travel market.

In APAC & EEME, we are investing both to build further scale in our existing geographic footprint and to selectively enter attractive new markets to secure long-term growth and returns. For example, in Saudi Arabia, a significant and rapidly growing travel market, we have grown our presence to 37 units, including 33 new openings in the last year, working alongside international brand partners such as Café Nero and Pret in addition to local brands such as Café Bateel.

In Continental Europe, where renewals in FY23 and FY24 reached almost twice historical levels, we have focused on the effective mobilisation of renewed contracts, seeking to optimise sales and profitability as their performance matures post-opening. In the first half, in addition to actions to address low profitability (outlined below) our teams have worked hard to mobilise 49 units in the region including in Tenerife Airport in the Canary Islands and in Oslo Airport in Norway.

In the UK, where we have also had an extensive renewal programme, our commitment to enhancing the customer proposition has led to a sustained strong customer rating of 4.6 out of 5, as measured by Reputation, and the delivery of like-for-like sales growth of 8% in the first half.

Both in Continental Europe and the UK, we have maintained strong contract retention rates, notably at key sites such as Lanzarote Airport in Spain and Leeds-Bradford Airport in the UK.

2.    BUILDING PROFITABILITY IN CONTINENTAL EUROPE

Due to a combination of external headwinds, the scale of our contract renewal programme, and a number of operational challenges, including the slower recovery post Covid in the Rail sector, profitability in our Continental Europe business has been tracking behind our expectations. In response, we put in place a five-point recovery plan to improve profitability which we presented at our Preliminary Results in December 2024, including a significant change agenda in our French and German markets. This plan is being led by Satya Menard, regional CEO, who was appointed in September 2024. The level of change, most particularly in France, is now greater than anticipated in December and while we have made encouraging progress in the first half, we expect the majority of the benefits for the year to be realised in the second half.  Progress against our recovery plan includes:

 

1.  Taking action to drive returns from our investment programme, particularly from the recent elevated level of renewals to ensure units reach mature returns more quickly.  In addition, we have bespoke plans to address markets, contracts and units that are underperforming against expected returns. For example, we have reset our strategy and rent profile in the Netherlands such that it is sustainably profitable going forward.  At a contract level, in airports where passenger flows are below expectations, we are addressing potential remedies on a case-by-case basis. At a unit level, we have specific sales driving or cost base interventions to bring them back to acceptable levels of return by FY26

2.  Making several changes to the senior management team in the region, including a full restructure of the management team in France, our largest market in Continental Europe. We have embedded a revised leadership structure in the Nordics with the appointment of a new CEO to drive clearer accountability and increase the focus on operational disciplines

3.    Implementing a lower cost operating model across the whole region. This includes actions to reduce the cost base through the optimisation of menu and ranges, labour costs and overheads.

4.   Tightly managing the closure of our legacy, loss-making German Motorway Service Areas ("MSAs") ahead of a complete exit in early 2026.  In the first half, we have exited 38 units and expect to exit a further 34 units in the second half

5.    Acting to drive like-for-like sales including building on strong performances in the Nordics and Spain, in addition to steadily growing the sales and returns from our Rail business, with a series of tactical and strategic initiatives

 

As originally set out in December 2024, actions in this plan aim to build regional profitability from an operating margin of 1.5% in FY24 towards approximately 3% this year and approximately 5% in the medium-term. In tandem with this plan to drive profitability, we are also planning for a reduction in capital expenditure in the region from c.£85m in FY24 to c.£60m this year and to c.£45m in FY26, driven by a combination of a lower level of renewals and a more selective approach to capital allocation.

 

 

3.    FURTHER COST EFFICIENCES

To support our plan to drive year-on-year margin improvement and counterbalance where possible the impact of cost inflationary pressures, we have identified and initiated a rolling programme of operating cost reductions. The programme consists of many parallel streams of activity across all areas of our cost base including gross margin optimisation, labour productivity, management of concession fees, and overheads.

We have carried out a strategic review of our business in Italy and are considering all options, which may lead to an exit from a number of loss-making contracts (for which impairment charges have been made).

From the second half of this year, we have accelerated this work with the commencement of a significant programme to simplify and scale back our support costs across the group. This will aim to reduce duplication and complexity with an approach that looks end-to-end across the business and protects delivery to our front-line teams.  Activity is already underway with additional work to be completed into the fourth quarter. We expect the full benefit of these changes to be realised in FY26.

We have made good progress in implementing the initiatives we had identified for the first half and are planning the roll-out of regional initiatives across our other global markets in future periods to ensure best practice and efficiency benefits are delivered. Initiatives include the roll out of the Workforce Management system across the UK, and recipe standardisation within North America.

Labour productivity is critical to our economic model, particularly with labour costs for the group rising by 70 bps to 32.4% of sales in the half due to inflationary pressures. In the UK, the Workforce Management system uses technology to support our frontline operating teams with the aim of improving labour productivity and driving sales by better aligning hours with predicted sales. It is a customised labour forecasting and scheduling tool, first launched to unit managers across the UK last year, to enable the better planning of labour in busy periods. The tool includes automated scheduling which creates optimised shift patterns and allocates colleagues according to expected passenger levels rather than default fixed shifts. Rotas can be easily adapted to last minute changes in colleague availability, helping managers to manage absence effectively. This model is now driving up to 5% saving in labour hours in the UK Air division.

 

Reducing our cost of goods sold, currently at 27.1% of sales, is another important lever to offset inflationary pressures and deliver margin accretion. In North America, we have completed a comprehensive project to optimise and standardise menus across all of our casual dining restaurants and bars, seeking to deliver a high quality offer for our customers alongside helping us to reduce our cost of goods sold. Working in close collaboration with brand partners, we have redesigned our menus to optimise ingredients, include more sustainable options and limit waste. The effect of this will be to continue to enable us to bring down cost of goods as a percentage of sales by up to 100 basis points.

 

4.    DRIVING RETURNS ON  CAPITAL EMPLOYED AND FUTURE CASH GENERATION

At the full year, we introduced Return on Capital Employed ("ROCE") as a key performance indicator in our external results to demonstrate our commitment to delivering stronger Group-wide returns. In FY24, our ROCE was 17.7%, rising from 17.0% in FY23. As we improve our operating performance through the initiatives outlined above and as we effectively manage our capital base, we expect a further improvement in ROCE in the current year and aim to deliver a ROCE of c.20% in FY27, consistent with remuneration targets.

In FY23 and FY24, a heightened level of capital investment, totalling c.£690m including acquisitions, strengthened our foundations and accelerated our growth trajectory. In the current year, we are focused on delivering the expected returns on this capital investment.

In the region of 60% of this investment was in our base estate where we successfully renewed approximately one third of our estate and extended our average remaining contract tenure from four years in 2022 to six years. This elevated level of investment was 'catching up' after many renewals were put on hold in the Covid period and caused our renewals level (as a % of sales) to rise to an average of 14% across the two years versus a normalised level of c.10%.

In combination with the rest of our investment programme, the high level of renewal activity resulted in a high level of pre-opening costs, which put pressure on near-term profitability. In the current year, we expect the level of renewals in our investment programme to revert to more normal levels and reduce still further in FY26, which will naturally both reduce cost pressures on our P&L and reduce the rate of growth of our capital base going forward.

In the region of 40% of our investment over the FY23 and FY24 period was in expansionary capital comprising M&A and new contracts. We made five acquisitions over the FY23 and FY24 period and have since have been focused on their effective integration to ensure we optimise synergies and deliver the expected returns on investment as they mature post-integration. Performance of recent acquisitions has been strong and returns are in line with or ahead of expectations.

In the current year, we are deprioritising incremental M&A spend and adopting a more targeted prioritisation process to focus more capital investment in our North America and APAC & EEME markets, the regions which are delivering the highest returns on new business.

As a consequence, we are now planning for a tightening of capital spend from our original plan of £230-240m in the current year to less than £230m, and we expect capital expenditure in FY26 to scale back further to less than £200m, largely reflecting a lower level of renewals with a net gains target of c.2-4%.

This reduction in capital spend, together with our focus on cash conversion, actions to increase planned levels of profitability, and an ongoing focus on working capital discipline, is expected to deliver a significant improvement in our free cash flow generation in FY25 and into FY26.

This enhanced level of free cash flow will create the conditions to return capital to shareholders in the near-term, whilst maintaining an efficient balance sheet with leverage in our target range of 1.5 to 2.0x net debt to EBITDA.

SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability is an important priority for the long-term success of our business. Our Sustainability Strategy focuses on the three key areas of Product, Planet and People, and is underpinned by high standards of governance. As we approach the 2025 end-date for the majority of our sustainability targets, our focus is on driving their delivery, exploring ways to evolve our strategy and targets, and continuing to embed sustainability into decision-making and leveraging our partnerships to support industry-wide change.

We are on track to meet our targets, which include; achieving a 25% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions intensity (tonnes CO2e per £million revenue), for 35% of meals offered by our own brands to be plant-based or vegetarian, for 80% of hot beverages for our own brands to be from sources certified to standards such as Rainforest Alliance, and for 97% of our own brand packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable.

Sustainability continues to be an important source of commercial value, including supporting business wins, such as our contract renewal at Oslo Airport (Norway) and our new contract at Sofia Airport (Bulgaria). It is also enhancing our ongoing client relationships, with sustainability noted as an important factor in our 2024 UK client survey. Our clients are increasingly looking to collaborate with us on shared goals, such as our collaboration with Network Rail and Olio to redistribute surplus food from our UK rail units to communities in need. Reducing energy consumption, food waste, and plastic consumption also reduces our costs and enhances operational efficiency. 

We are increasingly being recognised externally for our efforts, including being named as one of Europe's Climate Leaders 2025 in a special report by the Financial Times, in partnership with data provider Statista. This report recognises European companies that have achieved the greatest reduction in their Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions intensity over a five-year period (2018-23). To ensure our net-zero targets reflect the latest climate science, we are in the process of updating them to align with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) new Forest, Land & Agriculture (FLAG) standard. 

With the 2025 end-date approaching, to define the next evolution of our sustainability strategy, we have just completed a new double materiality assessment. Details will be reported in our 2025 Sustainability Report at the end of the year.

 

 

Supplementary Financial Information (On an underlying pre-IFRS 16 basis)

Group sales
£m	H1 Revenue	LFL	Net Gains	Acqns	Other*	Change at constant FX rates	Change at actual FX rates		LFL (first 6 weeks H2)
N.America	410	2%	8%	4%	-	13%	11%		(2)%
C.Europe	532	3%	2%	-	(2)%	3%	0%		2%
UK & I	424	8%	1%	-	-	9%	8%		10%
APAC & EEME	295	13%	12%	24%	(10)%	38%	32%		14%
Group	1,661	5%	5%	4%	(2)%	12%	9%		5%

*'Other' comprises impact from the staged exit of the German MSA business and the loss of reported sales from our repositioned AAHL joint venture in India, which is now reported as an associate and no longer consolidated

Regional Operating Profit					Operating profit % of sales
£m	H1 Operating profit	Change at constant FX rates		Change at actual FX rates	Constant FX rates		YoY % change
N.America	24	(2)%		(6)%	6.0%		(1.0)%
C.Europe	(12)	23%		26%	(2.3)%		0.8%
UK & I	23	40%		40%	5.5%		1.2%
APAC & EEME	34	18%		8%	11.8%		(2.1)%
Non-attributable	(24)	(20)%		(20)%	-		-
Group	45	31%		20%	2.8%		0.4%
Underlying Net Profit/(Loss)
£m	H1 25		H1 24			Change at actual FX rates
Revenue	1,661		1,517			9%
Gross Profit	1,210		1,095			11%
% sales	72.9%		72.2%
Labour Costs	(538)		(480)			(12)%
% sales	(32.4)%		(31.6)%
Concession Fees	(357)		(322)			(11)%
% sales	(21.5)%		(21.2)%
Overheads	(201)		(187)			(7)%
% sales	(12.1)%		(12.4)%
EBITDA	114		106			8%
% sales	6.9%		7.0%
Depreciation	(69)		(68)			(1)%
% sales	(4.1)%		(4.5)%
Operating Profit	45		38			20%
Operating margin %	2.7%		2.5%
Net Finance cost	(20)		(17)			(24)%
Associates	2		1			72%
Profit Before Tax	27		22			21%
Tax	(6)		(5)			(12)%
Minority interests	(25)		(25)			-
Net Loss	(4)		(8)			58%

 

.

A presentation and live webcast will be held at 9am (UKT) today, and details of how to join can be accessed at:

https://webcasts.foodtravelexperts.com/results/2025Interimresults

 

SSP - Food Travel Expert (foodtravelexperts.com)

 

CONTACTS

 

Investor and analyst enquiries

Sarah Roff, Group Head of Investor Relations, SSP Group plc

+44 (0) 7980 636214

E-mail: sarah.roff@ssp-intl.com

 

Media enquiries

Rob Greening / Russ Lynch

Sodali & Co

+44 (0) 207 250 1446

E-mail: ssp@sodali.com

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

About SSP

SSP Group plc (LSE:SSPG) is a global leading operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations employing around 49,000 colleagues in over 3,000 units across 38 countries. We specialise in designing, creating and operating a diverse range of food and drink outlets in airports, train stations and other travel hubs across six formats: sit-down and quick service restaurants, bars, cafés, lounges, and food-led convenience stores. Our extensive portfolio of brands features a mix of international, national, and local brands, tailored to meet the diverse needs of our clients and customers.

Our purpose is to be the best part of the journey, and we are committed to delivering leading brands and innovative concepts to our clients and customers around the world, focusing on exceptional taste, value, quality and service. Sustainability is crucial for our long-term success, and we aim to deliver positive impact for our business while uniting stakeholders to promote a sustainable food travel sector.

www.foodtravelexperts.com

Financial review

Group performance

 

	H1 2025 £m	H1 2024 £m		Change
			Actual   FX rates  (%)	Constant FX rates  (%)	LFL  (%)
Revenue	1,661.1	1,517.2	9.5	12.1	5.01
Underlying operating profit	67.6	58.0	16.6
Pre-IFRS 16 underlying operating profit	45.4	37.7	20.4
Operating profit	15.1	57.7	(73.8)

¹ Excluding the impact of the leap year in 2024, LFL growth would have been 5.5%

The Group has delivered strong sales growth across the first half year, despite the increasingly challenging macro-economic backdrop. Total first half Group Revenue of £1,661.1m increased by 9.5% compared with the first half of last year at actual exchange rates, and by 12.1% on a constant currency basis. This constant currency revenue growth included like-for-like growth of 5.0% (or 5.5% adjusting for the additional leap year day in 2024) and net new space growth of 7.1%, with the latter comprising 4.7% from organic net contract gains, 4.4% from acquisitions, and a -2.0% impact from the previously announced staged exit of our German MSA business and the loss of reported sales from our AAHL joint venture in India, which is no longer consolidated in the reported results. Revenue in the first half of the Group's financial year is typically lower than in the second half, as a significant part of our business serves the leisure sector of the travel industry, which is particularly active during the summer season in the Northern hemisphere.

 

During the first quarter, revenue was 14.2% ahead of the prior year on a constant currency basis, reflecting a strong sales performance across all regions. Like-for-like growth of 6.2% reflected further increases in passenger numbers in both the Air and Rail channels, as well as a lower incidence of industrial action in the UK Rail business. This was supplemented by a strong contribution of 5.0% from net gains and a 4.9% contribution from acquisitions (most notably ARE in Australia, which we acquired in May last year), offset by a negative impact of -1.9% from the exit of German MSAs and the loss of sales from the AAHL JV in India.   

 

The second quarter has seen revenue growth of 9.9% on a constant currency basis, including like-for-like growth of 3.7% (impacted by -1.1% from the extra leap year day in 2024), net contract gains of 4.5%, acquisitions of 3.9%, and a -2.2% impact from the German MSA and AAHL JV losses. In addition to the leap year impact, the slightly softer like-for-like growth compared to the first quarter also reflected the timing of Easter, which fell in April this year, compared to the end of March last year. Since the half year, like-for-like sales have increased by 5%, including a benefit from the later timing of Easter.

 

In the full year, we continue to plan for like-for-like growth of between 4% and 5% and net gains of c.4% with a further revenue contribution from the already completed acquisitions of between 2% and 3%. The estimated negative impact from the exit of the German MSAs and the deconsolidation of the AAHL JV is expected to be c.2%.

 

Trading results from outside the UK are converted into sterling at the average exchange rates for the year. The overall impact of the movement of foreign currencies (principally the Euro, US Dollar, Swedish Krona, Norwegian Krone, Indian Rupee, Egyptian Pound and Swiss Franc) during the first half of 2025 compared to the 2024 average was -1.4% on revenue, -2.5% on EBITDA and -4.6% on operating profit. If the current spot rates (13 May 2025) were to continue through 2025, we would expect a negative currency impact on revenue, underlying EBITDA (on a pre IFRS 16 basis) and operating profit of approximately -1.9%, -3.3% and -4.2% compared to the average rates used for 2024, which is the basis of the constant currency guidance above.

 

Operating profit

The underlying operating profit under IFRS 16 was £67.6m, compared to £58.0m in the prior year. On a reported basis, the operating profit was £15.1m (2024: £57.7m), reflecting a net charge of £52.5m (H1 2024: £0.3m charge) for non-underlying items.

 

On a pre-IFRS 16 basis, the first half underlying operating profit of £45.4m increased compared to the prior year by 31.5% on a constant currency basis, and by 20.4% at actual exchange rates. For the full year (on a constant currency pre-IFRS16 basis) we continue to plan for underlying operating profit within the range of £230m-£260m and earnings per share of 11.5p-13.5p.

 

Non-underlying operating items

Items which are not considered reflective of the normal trading performance of the business, and are exceptional because of their size, nature or incidence, are treated as non-underlying operating items and disclosed separately.

 

The non-underlying operating items included in the charge of £52.5m are summarised below: 

-   The Group has carried out impairment reviews where indications of impairment have been identified. These impairment reviews compared the value-in-use of individual sites, based on management's current assumptions regarding future trading performance, to the carrying values of the associated assets. Following this review, £24.5m of impairment charges have been recognised (including an impairment of right-of-use assets of £3.3m) primarily relating to France and Italy. These impairments were driven by a number of contracts continuing to perform below our previous expectations. We have carried out a strategic review of our business in Italy and are considering all options, which may lead to an exit from a number of loss-making contracts.

-      IT transformation costs: The Group is undergoing a major IT transformation project and has incurred significant costs developing a number of cloud-based IT systems. The Group has reassessed the accounting treatment of these costs previously capitalised as software intangible assets, and concluded that these costs should not have been capitalised as the Group does not directly control the cloud-based asset to which they have been attributed. However, these systems will be used into the medium term and therefore will deliver benefits well into the future and hence management have treated the related development costs as non-underlying. We have therefore recognised a £24.5m brought forward charge and £2.5m of current period charges in respect of this activity in non-underlying items.

-     The Group has recognised a credit relating to the renegotiation of a concession contract in Switzerland, such that the contract now falls outside the scope of IFRS 16. This has resulted in the derecognition of both the right of use asset and the lease liability, with the net impact on the income statement being a £1.6m credit (2024: £8.9m credit).

-       Other non-underlying expenses: we have incurred £2.6m of other non-underlying costs, comprising integration costs associated with the Group's acquisition of the ARE business in Australia and restructuring costs in the Group's operations in Continental Europe.

 

 

 

Regional performance

This section summarises the Group's performance across its four operating segments. For full details of our key reporting segments, please refer to note 2 on page 37.

 

North America

 

	H1 2025 £m	H1 2024 £m		Change
			Actual FX rates (%)	Constant FX rates  (%)	LFL  (%)
Revenue	409.8	369.7	10.8	13.0	1.5
Underlying operating profit	28.0	29.2	(4.1)
Pre-IFRS 16 underlying operating profit	24.1	25.7	(6.2)
Operating profit	28.0	27.9	0.4

 

First half revenue of £409.8m increased by 13.0% (on a constant currency basis), including like-for-like growth of 1.5% and contributions from net contract gains of 7.6% and acquisitions of 3.9%. At actual exchange rates first half revenue increased by 10.8%.

 

Revenue during the first quarter increased by 17.5% on a constant currency basis, including strong like-for-like growth of 3.4% and further contributions of 7.7% from organic net gains and 6.4% from acquisitions, with the acquisition of the Midfield Concessions business in Denver and the ECG business in Canada reaching their first anniversary in the quarter and treated as like-for-like from November and December respectively.

 

During the second quarter, like-for-like sales weakened to -0.3% on a reported basis (or 0.8% adjusting for the extra leap year day in 2024), driven by a combination of factors including flight cancellations and disruption arising from extreme weather conditions and the later Easter and softer underlying passenger numbers impacting many of our airports, particularly in March. Growth from net gains remained at a similar level to the first quarter at 7.5% while the contribution from acquisitions dropped to 1.4% following the anniversary of the Atlanta acquisition in February 2024. During the first six weeks of the second half, like-for-like sales have weakened to -2%.

 

The underlying operating profit for the period was £28.0m, compared to £29.2m in the prior year, and the reported operating profit was also £28.0m (2024: £27.9m). There were no non-underlying operating items in the period. On a pre-IFRS 16 basis, the underlying operating profit was £24.1m, which compared to £25.7m last year, a decrease of -6.2% at actual exchange rates and -2.0% on a constant currency basis, reflecting challenging prior year comparatives, as we benefited last year from the recognition of government support payments as a result of Covid-19.

 

 

Continental Europe

 

	H1 2025 £m	H1 2024 £m		Change
			Actual FX rates  (%)	Constant FX rates  (%)	LFL  (%)
Revenue	531.9	532.8	(0.2)	3.3	2.5
Underlying operating loss	(3.1)	(5.5)	43.6
Pre-IFRS 16 underlying operating loss	(12.1)	(16.3)	25.8
Operating loss	(18.8)	(10.7)	(75.7)

 

Revenue in Continental Europe of £531.9m in the first half increased by 3.3% on a constant currency basis, including like-for-like growth of 2.5% and a contribution of 2.4% from net gains, offset by a -1.6% impact from the closure of part of our MSA business in Germany. At actual exchange rates first half revenue decreased by -0.2%.

 

Revenue during the first quarter increased by 4.8% on a constant currency basis, including like-for-like growth of 3.1% and net gains of 3.1%, offset by a -1.4% impact from the MSA closures. The like-for-like growth benefited from strong performances in our airports in the Nordics and Spain, offsetting weaker sales in our rail operations in France, Germany and Netherlands.

 

During the second quarter, revenue growth weakened to 1.6%, including like-for-like growth of 1.7% (or 2.8% adjusting for the extra leap year day last year). The slightly softer underlying like-for-like sales growth principally reflected the impact of the later Easter this year, although sales in the rail channel remained disappointing, reflecting weaker levels of consumer spending in many markets. Net gains contributed 1.7% in the second quarter, offset by MSA losses of -1.8%. In the first six weeks of the second half, like-for-like sales have remained steady at 2%.

 

The underlying operating loss for the period was £3.1m (2024: £5.5m loss), with a reported operating loss of £18.8m (2024: £10.7m loss). Non-underlying operating items comprised impairments of property, plant and equipment of £15.0m and right-of-use assets of £0.4m primarily relating to France, a £1.6m profit on lease derecognition in Switzerland as well as other restructuring costs of £1.9m.

 

On a pre-IFRS 16 basis, the underlying operating loss was £12.1m, which compared to an underlying operating loss of £16.3m last year. This lower level of losses compared to the prior year reflected year on year improvements in several countries, notably in the Nordic region, but our trading performance in France and Germany continues to be challenging.

 

 

UK (including Republic of Ireland)

 

	H1 2025 £m	H1 2024 £m		Change
			Actual FX rates  (%)	Constant FX rates  (%)	LFL  (%)
Revenue	424.6	392.1	8.3	8.5	7.7
Underlying operating profit	27.4	19.5	40.5
Pre-IFRS 16 underlying operating profit	23.4	16.7	40.1
Operating profit	27.4	13.9	97.1

 

 

First half revenue in the UK of £424.6m increased by 8.5% on a constant currency basis, including like-for-like growth of 7.7% and a contribution of 0.8% from net gains. At actual exchange rates first half revenue increased by 8.3%.

 

Revenue during the first quarter increased by 9.3% on a constant currency basis, including strong like-for-like growth of 8.9% and a further 0.4% from net gains. This strong like-for-like sales performance reflected good growth in passenger numbers in the air sector and a lower incidence of industrial action in the rail sector compared with last year.

 

In the second quarter overall revenue growth remained strong (up 7.7% year-on-year), and like-for-like growth of 6.4% (or 7.5% adjusted for the leap year) remained encouraging, helped by a very strong performance from our M&S outlets. During the first six weeks of the second half, our UK like-for-like sales have increased by 10%, with only a modest impact from M&S's well-reported systems issues.

 

The underlying operating profit for the first half of the financial year for the UK was £27.4m (2024: £19.5m), with a reported operating profit of £27.4m (2024: £13.9m). There were no non-underlying items in the period. On a pre-IFRS 16 basis, the underlying operating profit was £23.4m, an increase of 40% compared to the £16.7m reported last year, with a margin improvement of 120 basis points.

 

APAC and EEME

 

	H1 20251 £m	H1 2024 £m		Change
			Actual FX rates  (%)	Constant FX rates  (%)	LFL  (%)
Revenue	294.8	222.6	32.4	38.4	12.5
Underlying operating profit	39.2	35.1	11.6
Pre-IFRS 16 underlying operating profit	34.0	31.6	7.6
Operating profit	29.4	42.4	(30.7)

¹ For FY25 Italy is now reported within the APAC and EEME region, see Note 2 for details

 

Revenue in the APAC and EEME region of £294.8m increased by 38.4% on a constant currency basis, including like-for-like growth of 12.5% and contributions of 12.1% from organic net gains and 24.1% from acquisitions, offset by a -10.3% impact from the loss of sales from the AAHL JV in India.  At actual exchange rates first half revenue increased by 32.4%.

 

Revenue during the first quarter increased by 41.8% on a constant currency basis, including like-for-like growth of 14.3%, 12.9% from net gains and 24.2% from acquisitions (most notably ARE, which was acquired in May last year), offset by -9.6% from the deconsolidated AAHL JV. The like-for-like growth reflected further improvements in passenger numbers across the region, most notably in India, Egypt and Australia.

 

In the second quarter, overall revenue growth of 34.9% remained encouraging, driven by ongoing strong like-for-like growth of 10.8% (despite an adverse year on year impact in many of our markets from the later timing of Easter and the earlier timing of Ramadan) as well as further contributions from net gains of 11.0% and acquisitions of 24.0% offset by -10.9% from the AAHL JV losses. During the first six weeks of the second half, like-for-like sales have increased by 14%.

 

The underlying operating profit for the period was £39.2m (2024: £35.1m), and the reported operating profit was £29.4m (2024: £42.4m). Non-underlying operating items comprised a fixed asset impairment of £6.2m and a right of use asset impairment of £2.9m relating to our Italian Rail business, as well as other costs of £0.7m, primarily in relation to the integration of the ARE business in Australia.

 

On a pre-IFRS 16 basis, the underlying operating profit was £34.0m, which compared to £31.6m in the comparative period last year, with a reduction in operating margin of -2.7%.

 

Share of profit of associates

The Group's underlying share of profits of associates was £1.4m (2024: £0.6m profit). On an underlying pre-IFRS 16 basis, the Group's share of profit from associates was £1.9m (2024: £1.1m profit), with the year-on-year increase driven by the new AAHL JV in India. We continue to expect the underlying pre-IFRS 16 share of profit from associates to be c.£10m.

 

Net finance costs

The underlying net finance expense for the first half of the financial year was £54.0m (2024: £46.5m), which includes interest on lease liabilities of £33.7m (2024: £30.0m). The reported net finance expense under IFRS 16 was £53.8m (2024: £45.5m).

 

On a pre-IFRS 16 basis, underlying net finance costs were higher than the prior year at £20.3m (2024: £16.5m), reflecting the Group's higher average net debt this year compared to last. We continue to expect underlying pre-IFRS 16 net finance costs for the full year to be in the region of £45m.

 

Taxation

 

The Group's underlying tax charge for the period was £3.2m (2024: £2.7m), representing an effective tax rate of 21.2 % (2024: 22.3%) of underlying profit before tax. On a reported basis, the tax credit for the period was £3.9m (2024: tax charge of £4.6m) representing an effective tax rate of 10.5% (2024: 35.9%). 

   

The Group's tax rate is sensitive to the geographic mix of profits and losses and reflects a combination of higher rates in certain jurisdictions, as well as the impact of losses in some countries for which no deferred tax asset is recognised. Looking forward for the full year, we expect the underlying tax rate to be around 21-22%.

 

As previously reported, OECD Pillar Two legislation has recently been enacted in the UK, the effect of which is to introduce a global minimum effective tax rate of 15%. The Group's first accounting period to which these rules apply is the year ended 30 September 2025. The Group continues to closely monitor the impact of the new rules but does not currently expect them to have a material impact on the Group's operations or results.

 

Non-controlling interests

The profit attributable to non-controlling interests was £28.1m (2024: £18.7m). On a pre-IFRS 16 basis the profit attributable to non-controlling interests was £24.6m (2024: £25.0m). A breakdown of the non-controlling interest charge in each half year is set out below.

On a pre-IFRS 16 basis	H1 2025 £m	H1 2024 £m
North America	10	9
APAC & EEME	15	16
-      India	12	13
-      Other	3	3
Group	25	25

 

In North America, the profit attributable to non-controlling interests increased slightly year-on-year, reflecting relatively stronger profit growth in airports with higher JV shares, as well as lower year on year profits in Canada, where we own 100% of the business. In APAC & EEME, the profit attributable to non-controlling interests in India reduced slightly year-on-year, with a strong performance in our core business largely offsetting the impact of the deconsolidation of the previous AAHL JV, while in the remainder of the region the non-controlling interests charge remained flat. For the full year we expect the profit attributable to non-controlling interests to be between £60-65m on a pre-IFRS 16 underlying constant currency basis.

 

Loss per share

The Group's underlying loss per share was 2.0 pence per share (2024: 1.2 pence per share), and its reported loss per share was 7.7 pence per share (2024: 1.3 pence per share).

On a pre-IFRS 16 basis the underlying loss per share was 0.4 pence per share (2024: 1.0 pence per share). 

 

Dividends
The Board has declared an interim dividend of 1.4 pence per share (H1 2024: 1.2 pence per share), with a view to maintaining the pay-out ratio for the full year at between 30% and 40% of underlying pre-IFRS 16 earnings per share, and with the interim dividend representing approximately one third of the expected full year dividend. The interim dividend will be paid, subject to shareholder approval, on 27 June 2025 to shareholders on the register on 30 May 2025.

 

 

Free Cash flow
The table below presents a summary of the Group's free cash outflow for the first half of 2025:

 

	H1 2025 £m	H1 2024 £m
Underlying operating profit1	45.4	37.7
Depreciation and amortisation	68.6	67.8
Working capital	(53.2)	(65.9)
Net tax payments	(18.2)	(15.5)
Acquisitions, net of cash received	(7.8)	(58.9)
Dividend	(18.4)	(19.9)
Capital expenditure2	(130.1)	(143.9)
Net dividends to non-controlling interests and from associates	(27.2)	(24.3)
Net finance costs	(18.4)	(21.7)
Exceptional costs	(4.1)	-
Other	2.3	4.5
Free cash outflow	(161.1)	(240.1)

 

¹ Presented on an underlying pre-IFRS 16 basis (refer to pages 22 - 26 for details)

² Capital expenditure is net of cash capital contributions received from non-controlling interests of £9.7m (2024: £7.9m)

 

The Group's free cash outflow during the first half year was £161.1m, a decrease from the £240.1m outflow in the first half of the prior year, reflecting the considerably reduced capital and acquisition expenditure in 2025 compared to the prior year, as well as the stronger profitability this year. The first half cash outflow also included the Group's ordinary dividend in 2024, with a final dividend for the prior year paid to shareholders in February 2025.

Capital expenditure was £130.1m, a decrease compared to £143.9m in the prior year, which included a higher than usual level of renewals and maintenance projects which were put on hold as a result of Covid-19. We are currently planning for capital expenditure of less than £230m in the current financial year, with the first half expenditure representing just under 60% of the expected full year spend.  Acquisition costs of £7.8m in the first half (2024: £58.9m) related to the acquisition of our controlling stake in the Taurus Gemelang business in Indonesia.  

The seasonal working capital outflow of £53.2m in the first half (2024: £65.9m outflow) was slightly lower than in the previous year, which included around £30m of payments relating to deferred liabilities from the Covid period. This year's seasonal first half outflow was slightly higher than is typically the case because of the very late Easter this year, resulting in lower than usual sales across the business at the end of March. For the second half year we anticipate a normal cash inflow as a consequence of an increase in the negative working capital in the business during the peak summer trading period, and for the year as a whole, as indicated in December, we anticipate that working capital will deliver a modest cash inflow.

 

Net corporation tax payments of £18.2m (2024: £15.5m) and net dividends paid to non-controlling interests (net of receipts from associates) of £27.2m (2024: £24.3m) increased year-on-year as a result of the increasing profitability of the business. Net finance costs paid of £18.4m were slightly lower than in the first half of the prior year (2024: £21.7m).

 

Exceptional costs in the first half amounted to £4.1m, relating mainly to organisational restructuring. For the second half we expect further exceptional cash costs including transaction costs in relation to the IPO in India, our organisational restructuring and the renegotiation of our rail contract in the Netherlands.

 

Net debt

Overall net debt increased by £171.7m to £764.2m on a pre-IFRS 16 basis, largely reflecting the free cash outflow in the year of £161.1m as detailed above. On a reported basis under IFRS 16, net debt was £1,907.1m (30 September 2024: £1,681.6m), including lease liabilities of £1,142.9m (30 September 2024: £1,089.1m).

 

Based on the pre-IFRS 16 net debt of £764.2m at 31 March 2025, leverage (Net debt/EBITDA) increased to approximately 2.2x from 1.7x at 30 September 2024. Looking ahead to September 2025 we expect leverage to be towards the lower end of target range of 1.5x to 2.0x.

 

The table below highlights the movements in net debt in the year on a pre-IFRS 16 basis.

 

	£m
Net debt excluding lease liabilities at 1 October 2024 (Pre-IFRS 16 basis)	(592.5)
Free cash outflow	(161.1)
Impact of foreign exchange rates	(11.1)
Other non-cash movements	0.5
Net debt excluding lease liabilities at 31 March 2025 (Pre-IFRS 16 basis)	(764.2)
Lease liabilities	(1,142.9)
Net debt including lease liabilities at 31 March 2025 (IFRS basis)	(1,907.1)

 

 

Alternative Performance Measures

The Directors use alternative performance measures for analysis as they believe these measures provide additional useful information on the underlying trends, performance and position of the Group. The alternative performance measures are not defined by IFRS and therefore may not be directly comparable with other companies' performance measures and are not intended to be a substitute for IFRS measures.

 

1. Revenue measures

As the Group is present in 38 countries, it is exposed to translation risk on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, and as such the Group's reported revenue and operating profit / loss will be impacted by movements in actual exchange rates. The Group presents its financial results on a constant currency basis in order to eliminate the effect of foreign exchange rates and to evaluate the underlying performance of the Group's businesses. The table below reconciles reported revenue to constant currency sales.

 

(£m)	North America	Continental Europe	UK	APAC and EEME	Total
H1 2025 Revenue at actual FX rates by region	409.8	531.9	424.6	294.8	1661.1
Impact of foreign exchange	3.0	12.9	0.5	6.7	23.1
H1 2025 Revenue at constant FX rates1	412.8	544.8	425.1	301.5	1684.2
H1 2024 Revenue at constant FX rates by region	365.2	527.5	391.7	217.9	1502.2
Constant currency sales growth	13.0%	3.3%	8.5%	38.4%	12.1%
Which is made up of:
Like-for-like sales growth2	1.5%	2.5%	7.7%	12.5%	5.0%
Net contract gains34	11.5%	0.8%	0.8%	25.9%	7.1%
Total constant currency sales growth	13.0%	3.3%	8.5%	38.4%	12.1%

¹ Constant currency is based on average 2024 exchange rates weighted over the financial year by 2024 results.

² Like-for-like sales represent revenues generated in an equivalent period in each financial year in outlets which have been open for a minimum of 12 months. Like-for-like sales are presented on a constant currency basis.

³ Revenue in outlets which have been open for less than 12 months and prior period revenues in respect of closed outlets are excluded from like-for-like sales and classified as contract gains. Net contract gains/(losses) are presented on a constant currency basis.

⁴ The impact of the acquisitions has been included in net contract gains.

 

 

2. Non-underlying items

The Group presents underlying profit/(loss) measures, including operating profit/(loss), profit/(loss) before tax, and earnings/(loss) per share, which exclude a number of items which are not considered reflective of the normal trading performance of the business, and are considered exceptional because of their size, nature or incidence. The table below provides a breakdown of the non-underlying items in both the current and prior year. 

	Non-underlying items
	IFRS 16  H1 2025 £m	IFRS 16  H1 2024 £m
Operating costs
Impairment of property, plant and equipment	(21.2)	(9.2)
Impairment of right-of-use assets	(3.3)	(1.8)
IT transformation costs	(27.0)	-
Gain on derecognition of leases	1.6	8.9
Repayment of legal costs and release of legal provision	-	5.7
Other non-underlying operating costs	(2.6)	(3.9)
	(52.5)	(0.3)
Effective interest rate adjustments	0.2	1.4
Refinancing fees	-	(0.4)
Tax credit/(charge) on non-underlying items	7.1	(1.9)
Total non-underlying items	(45.2)	(1.2)

 

Further details of the non-underlying operating items have been provided in the Financial Review section on page 13. Furthermore, a reconciliation from the underlying to the statutory reported basis is presented below:

	H1 2025 (IFRS 16)				H1 2024 (IFRS 16)
	Underlying	Non-underlying Items	Total		Underlying	Non-underlying Items	Total
Operating profit/(loss) (£m)	67.6	(52.5)	15.1		58.0	(0.3)	57.7
Operating margin	4.1%	(3.2)%	0.9%		3.8%	0.0%	3.8%
Profit/(loss) before tax (£m)	15.0	(52.3)	(37.3)		12.1	0.7	12.8
Loss per share (p)	(2.0)	(5.7)	(7.7)		(1.2)	(0.1)	(1.3)

 

 

3. Pre-IFRS 16 basis

In addition to our reported results under IFRS 16 we have decided to also maintain the reporting of our profit and other key KPIs like net-debt on a pre-IFRS 16 basis. This is because the pre-IFRS 16 profit is consistent with the financial information used to inform business decisions and investment appraisals. It is our view that presenting the information on a pre-IFRS 16 basis will provide a useful and necessary basis for understanding the Group's results. As such, commentary has also been included in the Business Review, Financial Review and other sections with reference to underlying profit measures computed on a pre-IFRS 16 basis.

 

A reconciliation of key underlying profit measures to 'Pre-IFRS 16' numbers is presented below:

 

		Six months ended			Six months ended
		31 March 2025			31 March 2024
	Notes	Underlying IFRS 16 £m	Impact of IFRS 16 £m	Underlying Pre-IFRS 16 £m	Underlying IFRS 16 £m		Impact of IFRS 16 £m	Underlying Pre-IFRS 16 £m
Revenue	2	1,661.1	-	1,661.1	1,517.2		-	1,517.2
Operating costs	4	(1,593.5)	(22.2)	(1,615.7)	(1,459.2)		(20.3)	(1,479.5)
Operating profit/(loss)		67.6	(22.2)	45.4	58.0		(20.3)	37.7
Share of profit from associates		1.4	0.5	1.9	0.6		0.5	1.1
Finance income	5	6.4	-	6.4	8.9		-	8.9
Finance expense	5	(60.4)	33.7	(26.7)	(55.4)		30.0	(25.4)
Profit before tax		15.0	12.0	27.0	12.1		10.2	22.3
Taxation		(3.2)	(2.5)	(5.7)	(2.7)		(2.4)	(5.1)
Profit for the period		11.8	9.5	21.3	9.4		7.8	17.2
(Loss)/Profit attributable to:
Equity holders of the parent		(16.3)	13.0	(3.3)	(9.3)		1.5	(7.8)
Non-controlling interests		28.1	(3.5)	24.6	18.7		6.3	25.0
Profit for the period		11.8	9.5	21.3		9.4	7.8		17.2
Loss per share (pence):
-          Basic	3	(2.0)		(0.4)	(1.2)			(1.0)
-     Diluted	3	(2.0)		(0.4)	(1.2)			(1.0)

 

Underlying operating profit is £22.2m lower on a pre-IFRS 16 basis, as adding back the depreciation of the right-of-use assets of £136.1m does not fully offset the recognition of fixed rents of £158.3m. Profit before tax is £12.0m higher on a pre-IFRS 16 basis as a result of adding back £33.7m in finance charges on lease liabilities and £0.5m relating to associates. The impact of IFRS 16 on net debt is primarily the recognition of the lease liability balance.

Pre-IFRS 16 basis underlying EBITDA is a key measure of profitability for the Group. A reconciliation to pre-IFRS 16 basis underlying operating profit for the period is presented below:

	Six months ended 31 March 2025 £m	Six months ended 31 March 2024 £m
Pre-IFRS 16 underlying EBITDA	114.0	105.5
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment	(64.6)	(62.6)
Amortisation of intangible assets	(4.0)	(5.2)
Pre-IFRS 16 underlying operating profit	45.4	37.7

 

Furthermore, a reconciliation from pre-IFRS 16 underlying operating profit for the period to the statutory profit for the period is as follows:

 

	Six months ended 31 March 2025 £m	Six months ended 31 March 2024 £m
Pre-IFRS 16 underlying operating profit for the period	45.4	37.7
Depreciation of right-of-use assets	(136.1)	(111.8)
Fixed rent on leases	158.3	132.1
Non-underlying operating profit/(costs) (note 4)	(52.5)	(0.3)
Underlying share of profit from associates	1.4	0.6
Net finance expense	(54.0)	(46.5)
Non-underlying finance credit (note 5)	0.2	1.0
Taxation	3.9	(4.6)
(Loss)/ profit for the period	(33.4)	8.2

 

 

A reconciliation of underlying operating profit to profit before and after tax is provided as follows:

 

	Six months ended 31 March 2025 £m	Six months ended 31 March 2024 £m
Underlying operating profit	67.6	58.0
Non-underlying operating profit/(costs) (note 4)	(52.5)	(0.3)
Underlying share of profit from associates	1.4	0.6
Finance income	6.4	8.9
Finance expense	(60.4)	(55.4)
Non-underlying finance credit (note 5)	0.2	1.0
(Loss)/profit before tax	(37.3)	12.8
Taxation	3.9	(4.6)
(Loss)/profit after tax	(33.4)	8.2

 

4. Liquidity and cashflow
Liquidity remains a key KPI for the Group. Available liquidity at 31 March 2025 has been computed as £446.4m, comprising cash and cash equivalents of £207.4m, and undrawn credit facilities of £239.0m.

A reconciliation of free cashflow to underlying operating profit/(loss) is shown on page 20.

Principal risks

The principal risks facing the Group for the remainder of the year are unchanged from those reported in the 2024 Annual Report and Accounts.

 

These risks, together with the Group's risk management process, are detailed on pages 77 to 84 of the Annual Report and Accounts 2024, and relate to the following areas: Geo-political and macroeconomic events and trends, Information security, stability and resilience, Competitive landscape - changing client, competitor and consumer behaviour, Health & Safety, Product safety and quality, Expansion into new markets, Sustainability, Supply chain and product cost inflation, Legal and regulatory compliance, Realisation of returns on capital invested, People - talent acquisition and retention, organisational structure and culture, Availability of labour and wage inflation.

 

 

Responsibility statement of the directors in respect of the half-yearly financial report

We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:

-     the condensed set of financial statements has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as adopted for use in the UK;

 

-     the interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by:

·    DTR 4.2.7R of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, being an indication of important events that have occurred during the first six months of the financial year and their impact on the condensed set of financial statements; and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the year; and

·    DTR 4.2.8R of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, being related party transactions that have taken place in the first six months of the current financial year and that have materially affected the financial position or performance of the entity during that period; and any changes in the related party transactions described in the last annual report that could do so.

 

 

On behalf of the Board

 

 

Patrick Coveney                                              Jonathan Davies

Chief Executive Officer                                  Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer

19 May 2025                                                   19 May 2025                      

 

INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT TO SSP GROUP plc

We have been engaged by the company to review the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 31 March 2025 which comprises the condensed consolidated income statement, condensed consolidated statement of other comprehensive income, condensed consolidated balance sheet, condensed consolidated statement of changes in equity and condensed consolidated cash flow statement, and the related explanatory notes.

Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 31 March 2025 is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as adopted for use in the UK and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules ("the DTR") of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority ("the UK FCA").

Basis for conclusion

We conducted our review in accordance with International Standard on Review Engagements (UK) 2410 Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity ("ISRE (UK) 2410") issued for use in the UK. A review of interim financial information consists of making enquiries, primarily of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures. We read the other information contained in the half- yearly financial report and consider whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the information in the condensed set of financial statements.

A review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) and consequently does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion.

 

Conclusions relating to going concern

Based on our review procedures, which are less extensive than those performed in an audit as described in the Basis for conclusion section of this report, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the directors have inappropriately adopted the going concern basis of accounting, or that the directors have identified material uncertainties relating to going concern that have not been appropriately disclosed.

This conclusion is based on the review procedures performed in accordance with ISRE (UK) 2410. However, future events or conditions may cause the group to cease to continue as a going concern, and the above conclusions are not a guarantee that the group will continue in operation.

 

Directors' responsibilities

The half-yearly financial report is the responsibility of, and has been approved by, the directors. The directors are responsible for preparing the half-yearly financial report in accordance with the DTR of the UK FCA.

As disclosed in note 1, the annual financial statements of the group are prepared in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting standards.

The directors are responsible for preparing the condensed set of financial statements included in the half-yearly financial report in accordance with IAS 34 as adopted for use in the UK.

In preparing the condensed set of financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the group's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the group or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

 

Our responsibility

Our responsibility is to express to the company a conclusion on the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report based on our review. Our conclusion, including our conclusions relating to going concern, are based on procedures that are less extensive than audit procedures, as described in the Basis for conclusion section of this report.

 

The purpose of our review work and to whom we owe our responsibilities

This report is made solely to the company in accordance with the terms of our engagement to assist the company in meeting the requirements of the DTR of the UK FCA. Our review has been undertaken so that we might state to the company those matters we are required to state to it in this report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company for our review work, for this report, or for the conclusions we have reached.

 

 

 

Lourens de Villiers

for and on behalf of KPMG LLP

Chartered Accountants 15 Canada Square London, E14 5GL

19 May 2025

 

Condensed consolidated income statement (Unaudited)

for the six months ended 31 March 2025

 

 

		Six months ended 31 March 2025			Six months ended 31 March 2024
	Notes	Underlying1	Non-underlying items	Total	Underlying1	Non-underlying items	Total
		£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m
Revenue		1,661.1	-	1,661.1	1,517.2	-	1,517.2
Operating costs	4	(1,593.5)	(52.5)	(1,646.0)	(1,459.2)	(0.3)	(1,459.5)
Operating profit / (loss)		67.6	(52.5)	15.1	58.0	(0.3)	57.7
Share of profit of associates		1.4	-	1.4	0.6	-	0.6
Finance income	5	6.4	-	6.4	8.9	-	8.9
Finance expense	5	(60.4)	0.2	(60.2)	(55.4)	1.0	(54.4)
Profit/(loss) before tax		15.0	(52.3)	(37.3)	12.1	0.7	12.8
Taxation		(3.2)	7.1	3.9	(2.7)	(1.9)	(4.6)
Profit/(loss) for the period		11.8	(45.2)	(33.4)	9.4	(1.2)	8.2
(Loss)/ profit attributable to:
Equity holders of the parent		(16.3)	(45.2)	(61.5)	(9.3)	(1.2)	(10.5)
Non-controlling interests		28.1	-	28.1	18.7	-	18.7
Profit/(loss) for the period		11.8	(45.2)	(33.4)	9.4	(1.2)	8.2
Loss per share (p):
-          Basic	3	(2.0)		(7.7)	(1.2)		(1.3)
-          Diluted	3	(2.0)		(7.7)	(1.2)		(1.3)

 

¹ Stated on an underlying basis, which excludes non-underlying items as further explained in the section on Alternative Performance Measures (APMs) on pages 22 - 26.

 

 

 

Condensed consolidated statement of other comprehensive income (Unaudited)

for the six months ended 31 March 2025

 

	Six months ended 31 March 2025	Six months ended 31 March 2024
	£m	£m
Other comprehensive income / (expense)
Items that will never be reclassified to the income statement
Remeasurements on defined benefit pension schemes	(1.3)	0.7
Tax credit/(charge) relating to items that will not be reclassified	0.3	(0.1)
Items that are or may be reclassified subsequently to the income statement
Net (loss)/gain on hedge of net investment in foreign operations	(10.7)	11.4
Other foreign exchange translation differences	41.0	(25.0)
Cash flow hedges - reclassified to income statement	-	1.1
Tax (charge) / credit relating to items that are or may be reclassified	(4.5)	1.0
Other comprehensive income/(expense) for the period	24.8	(10.9)
(Loss)/profit for the period	(33.4)	8.2
Total comprehensive expense for the period	(8.6)	(2.7)
Total comprehensive (expense) / income attributable to:
Equity shareholders	(41.9)	(18.5)
Non-controlling interests	33.3	15.8
Total comprehensive expense for the period	(8.6)	(2.7)

Condensed consolidated balance sheet (Unaudited)

as at 31 March 2025

	Notes	31 March 2025	30 September 2024
		£m	£m
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment		744.3	696.8
Goodwill and intangible assets		746.5	755.7
Right-of-use assets		1,108.7	1,032.0
Investments in associates		23.3	21.5
Deferred tax assets		89.7	84.2
Other receivables		113.2	105.7
		2,825.7	2,695.9
Current assets
Inventories		45.6	45.5
Tax receivable		7.9	10.0
Trade and other receivables		160.6	166.7
Cash and cash equivalents	8	207.4	254.8
		421.5	477.0
Total assets		3,247.2	3,172.9
Current liabilities
Short-term borrowings	8	(130.6)	(12.2)
Trade and other payables		(672.4)	(717.0)
Tax payable		(7.6)	(22.4)
Lease liabilities		(296.6)	(298.7)
Provisions		(17.5)	(26.1)
		(1,124.7)	(1,076,4)
Non-current liabilities
Long-term borrowings	8	(841.0)	(835.1)
Post-employment benefit obligations		(10.4)	(10.7)
Lease liabilities		(846.3)	(790.4)
Other payables		(1.6)	(1.5)
Provisions		(43.7)	(35.2)
Deferred tax liabilities		(36.9)	(39.7)
Interest rate swaps		(0.7)	(0.7)
		(1,780.6)	(1,713.3)
Total liabilities		(2,905.3)	(2,789.7)
Net assets		341.9	383.2
Equity
Share capital		8.6	8.6
Share premium		472.7	472.7
Capital redemption reserve		1.2	1.2
Other reserves		(0.1)	(20.7)
Retained losses		(313.2)	(234.6)
Total equity shareholders' funds		169.2	227.2
Non-controlling interests		172.7	156.0
Total equity		341.9	383.2

 

 

 

Condensed consolidated statement of changes in equity (Unaudited)

for the six months ended 31 March 2025

 

 

 

	Share capital	Share premium	Capital redemption reserve	Other reserves1	Retained  losses	Total parent equity	NCI	Total equity
At 1 October 2023	8.6	472.7	1.2	(18.2)	(238.1)	226.2	95.9	322.1
(Loss)/profit for the period	-	-	-	-	(10.5)	(10.5)	18.7	8.2
Other comprehensive income / (expense) for the period	-	-	-	(8.6)	0.6	(8.0)	(2.9)	(10.9)
Capital contributions from non-controlling interests	-	-	-	-	-	-	25.7	25.7
Dividends paid to NCI	-	-	-	-	-	-	(27.8)	(27.8)
Purchase of additional stake in subsidiary	-	-	-	-	(6.4)	(6.4)	6.4	-
Transaction with NCI	-	-	-	-	6.2	6.2	-	6.2
Dividends paid to shareholders	-	-	-	-	(19.9)	(19.9)	-	(19.9)
Share-based payments	-	-	-	-	2.7	2.7	-	2.7
At 31 March 2024	8.6	472.7	1.2	(26.8)	(265.4)	190.3	116.0	306.3
At 1 October 2024	8.6	472.7	1.2	(20.7)	(234.6)	227.2	156.0	383.2
(Loss)/profit for the period	-	-	-	-	(61.5)	(61.5)	28.1	(33.4)
Other comprehensive income / (expense) for the period	-	-	-	20.6	(1.0)	19.6	5.2	24.8
Capital contributions from non-controlling interests	-	-	-	-	-	-	10.9	10.9
Dividends paid to NCI	-	-	-	-	-	-	(28.1)	(28.1)
Purchase of additional stake in subsidiary	-	-	-	-	-	-	0.6	0.6
Dividends paid to shareholders	-	-	-	-	(18.4)	(18.4)	-	(18.4)
Share-based payments	-	-	-	-	2.3	2.3	-	2.3
At 31 March 2025	8.6	472.7	1.2	(0.1)	(313.2)	169.2	172.7	341.9

 

¹ The other reserves include the translation reserve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Condensed consolidated cash flow statement (Unaudited)

for the six months ended 31 March 2025

 

	Notes	Six months ended 31 March 2025	Six months ended 31 March 2024
		£m	£m
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash flow from operations	6	220.0	179.0
Tax paid		(18.2)	(15.5)
Net cash flows from operating activities		201.8	163.5
Cash flows from investing activities
Dividends received from associates		0.9	3.5
Interest received		4.9	2.3
Purchase of property, plant and equipment		(136.8)	(136.1)
Purchase of other intangible assets		(3.0)	(15.7)
Acquisitions, net of cash and cash equivalents acquired		(7.8)	(58.9)
Net cash flows from investing activities		(141.8)	(204.9)
Cash flows from financing activities
Repayment of the Term Loan		(150.0)	-
Drawdown on revolving credit facility (RCF)		65.0	136.4
Drawdown on USPP facility		200.7	-
Net repayment of other bank facilities		(4.1)	(6.4)
Loans taken from/(repaid to) non-controlling interests		2.1	2.8
Payment of lease liabilities - principal		(125.1)	(104.1)
Payment of lease liabilities - interest		(33.7)	(30.0)
Interest paid excluding interest on lease liabilities		(23.3)	(23.6)
Dividends paid to non-controlling interests		(28.1)	(27.8)
Capital contribution from non-controlling interests		9.7	7.9
Capital contributions into associates		-	(0.8)
Fees paid as part of the Group's debt modifications		-	(0.4)
Dividends paid to equity shareholders		(18.4)	(19.9)
Net cash flows from financing activities		(105.2)	(65.9)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents		(45.2)	(107.3)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period		254.8	303.3
Effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash and cash equivalents		(2.2)	(5.6)
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period		207.4	190.4
Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net debt
Net decrease in cash in the period		(47.4)	(107.3)
Repayment of Term Loan		150.0	-
Drawdown on revolving credit facility (RCF) and USPP		(265.7)	(136.4)
Cash outflow from other changes in debt		2.0	3.6
Change in net debt resulting from cash flows, excluding lease liabilities		(161.1)	(240.1)
Translation differences		(11.1)	6.3
Other non-cash changes		0.5	7.2
Increase in net debt excluding lease liabilities in the period		(171.7)	(226.6)
Net debt at beginning of the period		(592.5)	(392.2)
Net debt excluding lease liabilities at end of the period		(764.2)	(618.8)
Lease liabilities at end of the period		(1,142.9)	(1,014.1)
Net debt including lease liabilities at end of the period		(1,907.1)	(1,632.9)

 

 

Notes to the unaudited financial statements

1            Basis of preparation and accounting policies

 

1.1 Basis of preparation

 

This condensed set of financial statements has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as adopted for use in the UK. 

 

The annual financial statements of the Group are prepared in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting standards. As required by the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority, the condensed set of financial statements has been prepared applying the accounting policies and presentation that were applied in the preparation of the Group's published consolidated financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2024. Those accounts were reported upon by the Group's auditors and delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditors was unqualified and did not contain statements under Section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006. The comparative figures for the six months ended 31 March 2024 are not the Group's statutory accounts for that financial year.

 

The Group has applied the mandatory temporary exception to recognising and disclosing information about deferred tax assets and liabilities arising from Pillar 2 income taxes.  

 

These condensed financial statements are presented in Sterling and, unless stated otherwise, rounded to the nearest £0.1 million. The financial statements are prepared on the historical cost basis.

 

Except as described below, the accounting policies adopted in the preparation of these condensed consolidated half yearly financial statements to 31 March 2025 are consistent with the accounting policies applied by the Group in its consolidated financial statements as at, and for the year ended, 30 September 2024 as required by the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority.

 

 

1.2 Going concern

These financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis.

 

The Board has reviewed the Group's financial forecasts as part of the preparation of its financial statements, including cash flow forecasts prepared for a period of 16 months from the date of approval of these financial statements and taking into consideration a number of different scenarios. Whilst cash flow forecasts have been prepared for a period of 16 months to coincide with the Group's 2026 financial year end, the period of assessment for going concern purposes is assessed as being 12 months from the date of approval of these interim financial statements ("the going concern period"). Having carefully reviewed these forecasts, the Directors have concluded that it is appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing these financial statements for the reasons set out below.

In making the going concern assessment, the Directors have considered forecast cash flows and the liquidity available over the going concern period. In doing so they assessed a number of scenarios, including a base case scenario and a plausible downside scenario. The base case scenario reflects an expectation of a continuing growth in passenger numbers in most of our key markets during the forecast period, augmented by the ongoing roll-out of our new business pipeline.

With some uncertainty surrounding the economic and geo-political environment over the next twelve months, a downside scenario has also been modelled, applying severe but plausible assumptions to the base case. This downside scenario reflects a pessimistic view of the travel markets for the remainder of the current financial year, assuming sales that are around 5% lower than in the base case scenario.

In both its base case and downside case scenarios, the Directors are confident that the Group will have sufficient funds to continue to meet its liabilities as they fall due for a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements, and that it will have headroom against all applicable covenant tests throughout this period of assessment. The Directors have therefore deemed it appropriate to prepare the financial statements for the six months ended 31 March 2025 on a going concern basis.

1.3 Changes in accounting policies and disclosures

 

The following amended standards and interpretations have been adopted by the Group in the current period:

 

·    Lease Liability in a Sale and Leaseback (Amendments to IFRS 16)

·    Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-Current (Amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements)

·    Supplier Finance Arrangements (Amendments to IAS 7 and IFRS 7)

 

There is no significant impact of adopting these new standards on the Group's consolidated financial statements.

 

1.4 New accounting standards not yet adopted by the Group

 

The following amended standards and interpretations are not expected to have a significant impact on the Group's consolidated financial statements:

·    Lack of Exchangeability (Amendments to IAS 21), effective 2026 financial year

·    Annual Improvements to IFRS Accounting Standards - Volume 11, effective 2027 financial year

·    IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements, effective 2028 financial year

·    IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures, effective 2027 financial year

·    Amendments to the Classification and Measurement of Financial Instruments (Amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS 7), effective 2027 financial year

·    Contracts Referencing Nature-dependent Electricity (Amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS 7), effective 2027 financial year

 

 

 

   

2            Segmental reporting

SSP operates in the food and beverage travel sector, mainly at airports and railway stations.

Management monitors the performance and strategic priorities of the business from a geographic perspective, and in this regard has identified the following four key "reportable segments": North America, Continental Europe, the UK and APAC and EEME. North America includes operations in the United States, Canada and Bermuda; Continental Europe includes operations in the Nordic countries and in Western and Southern Europe; The UK includes operations in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland; and APAC and EEME includes operations in Asia Pacific, India, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and South America. These segments comprise countries which are at similar stages of development and demonstrate similar economic characteristics.

As a result of changing internal responsibility for the country of Italy, the internal management reporting has been amended such that Italy is now reported within the APAC and EEME region and the reportable segment information for HY25 includes this change. The comparative information for HY24 has not been restated as the revenues and profits from Italy in HY24 and FY24 are immaterial.

The Group's management assesses the performance of the operating segments based on revenue and underlying operating profit. Interest income and expenditure are not allocated to segments, as they are managed by a central treasury function, which oversees the debt and liquidity position of the Group. The non-attributable segment comprises costs associated with the Group's head office function and depreciation of central assets.

 

 

	North America		Continental Europe	UK		APAC and EEME	Non-attributable		Total
	£m		£m	£m		£m	£m		£m
Six months ended 31 March 2025
Revenue	409.8		531.9	424.6		294.8	-		1661.1
Underlying operating profit / (loss)	28.0		(3.1)	27.4		39.2	(23.9)		67.6
Non-underlying operating costs	-		(15.7)	-		(9.8)	(27.0)		(52.5)
Operating profit / (loss)	28.0		(18.8)	27.4		29.4	(50.9)		15.1
Six months ended 31 March 2024
Revenue	369.7		532.8	392.1		222.6	-		1,517.2
Underlying operating profit / (loss)	29.2		(5.5)	19.5		35.1	(20.3)		58.0
Non-underlying operating costs	(1.3)		(5.2)	(5.6)		7.3	4.5		(0.3)
Operating profit / (loss)	27.9		(10.7)	13.9		42.4	(15.8)		57.7

 

 

The following amounts are included in underlying operating profit / (loss):

 

	North America	Continental Europe	UK	APAC and EEME	Non-attributable	Total
	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m
Six months ended 31 March 2025
Depreciation and amortisation	(46.4)	(90.0)	(29.4)	(34.2)	(4.7)	(204.7)
Six months ended 31 March 2024
Depreciation and amortisation	(45.6)	(82.3)	(26.4)	(20.5)	(4.8)	(179.6)

 

3            Loss per share

Basic loss per share is calculated by dividing the result for the period attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. Diluted loss per share is calculated by dividing the result for the period attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period adjusted by potentially dilutive outstanding share options.

 

Underlying loss per share is calculated the same way except that the result for the period attributable to ordinary shareholders is adjusted for specific items as detailed below:

	Six months ended 31 March 2025	Six months ended 31 March 2024
	£m	£m
Loss attributable to ordinary shareholders	(61.5)	(10.5)
Adjustments:
Non-underlying operating costs	52.5	0.3
Non-underlying finance credit	(0.2)	(1.0)
Tax effect of adjustments	(7.1)	1.9
Underlying loss attributable to ordinary shareholders	(16.3)	(9.3)
Basic weighted average number of shares	799,828,454	797,438,639
Dilutive potential ordinary shares	-	-
Diluted weighted average number of shares	799,828,454	797,438,639
Loss per share (p):
-          Basic	(7.7)	(1.3)
-          Diluted	(7.7)	(1.3)
Underlying loss per share (p):
-         Basic	(2.0)	(1.2)
-         Diluted	(2.0)	(1.2)

 

The number of ordinary shares in issue as at 31 March 2025 was 800,726,196 which excludes treasury shares (31 March 2024: 798,070,196). The Company also holds 263,499 ordinary shares in treasury (31 March 2024: 263,499).

 

Potential ordinary shares can only be treated as dilutive when their conversion to ordinary shares would decrease earnings per share or increase loss per share. As the Group has recognised a loss for the period none of the potential ordinary shares are considered to be dilutive.

4            Operating costs

	Six months ended 31 March 2025	Six months ended 31 March 2024
	£m	£m
Cost of food and materials:
Cost of inventories consumed in the period	(450.7)	(422.2)
Labour cost:
Employee remuneration	(537.7)	(479.7)
Overheads:
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment	(64.6)	(62.6)
Depreciation of right-of-use assets	(136.1)	(111.8)
Amortisation of intangible assets	(4.0)	(5.2)
Non-underlying operating loss	(52.5)	(0.3)
Rentals payable under leases	(199.0)	(190.2)
Other overheads	(201.4)	(187.5)
Total operating costs	(1,646.0)	(1,459.5)

 

Non-underlying operating loss

The non-underlying operating gain / (costs) in the six months ended 31 March 2025 are shown below.

	Six months ended 31 March 2025	Six months ended 31 March 2024
	£m	£m
Impairment of property, plant and equipment	(21.2)	(9.2)
Impairment of right-of-use assets	(3.3)	(1.8)
Gain on derecognition of leases	1.6	8.9
IT transformation costs	(27.0)	-
Repayment of historical legal fees and release of legal provision	-	5.7
Other non-underlying operating costs	(2.6)	(3.9)
Total non-underlying operating loss	(52.5)	(0.3)

 

Impairment of property, plant and equipment and right-of-use assets:

The Group has carried out impairment reviews where indications of impairment have been identified. These impairment reviews compared the value-in-use of individual sites, based on management's current assumptions regarding future trading performance, to the carrying values of the associated assets. Following this review, £24.5m impairment charges have been recognised (including an impairment of right-of-use assets of £3.3m) primarily relating to France and Italy. These impairments were driven by a number of contracts continuing to perform below our previous expectations. We have carried out a strategic review of our business in Italy and are considering all options, which may lead to an exit from a number of loss-making contracts.

 

Gain on derecognition of leases:

The Group has recognised a credit relating to the renegotiation of a concession contract in Switzerland, such that the contract now falls outside the scope of IFRS 16. This has resulted in the derecognition of both the right of use asset and the lease liability, with the net impact on the income statement being a £1.6m credit (2024: £8.9m credit).

 

IT transformation costs:

The Group is undergoing a major IT transformation project and has incurred significant costs developing a number of cloud-based IT systems. The Group has reassessed the accounting treatment of these costs previously capitalised as software intangible assets, and concluded that these costs should not have been capitalised as the Group does not directly control the cloud-based asset to which they have been attributed. However, these systems will be used into the medium term and therefore will deliver benefits well into the future and hence management have treated the related development costs as non-underlying. We have therefore recognised a £24.5m brought forward charge and £2.5m of current period charges in respect of this activity in non-underlying items.

 

Other non-underlying expenses:

We have incurred £2.6m of other non-underlying costs, comprising integration costs associated with the Group's acquisition of the ARE business in Australia and restructuring costs in the Group's operations in Continental Europe.

 

 

5            Finance income and expense

	Six months ended 31 March 2025	Six months ended 31 March 2024
	£m	£m
Finance income
Foreign exchange gains	1.4	6.1
Interest Income	5.0	2.4
Net change in fair value of cash flow hedges utilised in the period	-	0.4
Total finance income	6.4	8.9
Finance expense
Total interest expense on financial liabilities measured at amortised cost	(26.1)	(24.7)
Lease interest expense	(33.7)	(30.0)
Non-underlying finance credit	0.2	1.0
Unwind of discount on provisions	(0.6)	(0.7)
Total finance expense	(60.2)	(54.4)

 

 

Non-underlying finance credit

The non-underlying finance credit in the six months ended 31 March 2025 and also in the prior period includes income recognised under IFRS 9 as a result of prior year amendments and extensions of borrowings.

	Six months ended 31 March 2025 £m	Six months ended 31 March 2024 £m
Effective interest rate gain	0.2	1.4
Refinancing costs	-	(0.4)
Total non-underlying finance credit	0.2	1.0

 

In the prior periods, non-substantial modifications to the Group's financing arrangements resulted in charges which were recognised as non-underlying. The amortisation of the liability resulting from this charge through the effective interest rate calculation has therefore also been recognised as non-underlying.

6             Cash flow from operations

	Six months ended 31 March 2025	Six months ended 31 March 2024
	£m	£m
(Loss)/profit for the period	(33.4)	8.2
Adjustments for:
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment	64.6	62.6
Depreciation of right-of-use assets	136.1	111.8
Amortisation of intangible assets	4.0	5.2
Gain on derecognition of leases	(1.6)	(8.9)
Impairments	24.5	11.0
IT transformation costs (note 4)	24.5	-
Share-based payments	2.3	2.7
Finance income	(6.4)	(8.9)
Finance expense	60.2	54.4
Movements in provisions and pensions	1.3	0.5
Share of profit of associates	(1.4)	(0.6)
Taxation	(3.9)	4.6
	270.8	242.6
Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables	7.3	(3.0)
Increase in inventories	(0.1)	(2.7)
Decrease in trade and other payables including provisions	(58.0)	(57.9)
Cash flow from operations	220.0	179.0

 

7             Dividends

The final dividend of 2.3p per share for the year ended 30 September 2024 was approved and paid during the period (2024: a final dividend of 2.5p approved and paid for the year ended 30 September 2023). The decrease in the final dividend was a consequence of not paying an interim dividend in FY23.

The Board has declared an interim dividend of 1.4 pence per share (H1 2024: 1.2 pence per share), with a view to maintaining the pay-out ratio for the full year at between 30% and 40% of underlying pre-IFRS 16 earnings per share, and with the interim dividend representing approximately one third of the expected full year dividend, based on our Planning Assumptions. The interim dividend will be paid, subject to shareholder approval, on 27 June 2025 to shareholders on the register on 30 May 2025.

The ex-dividend date will be 29 May 2025.

8            Fair value measurement

Certain of the Group's financial instruments are held at fair value.

The fair values of financial instruments held at fair value have been determined based on available market information at the balance sheet date, and the valuation methodologies detailed below:

-      the fair values of the Group's borrowings are calculated based on the present value of future principal and interest cash flows, discounted at the market rate of interest at the balance sheet date.

-      the derivative financial liabilities relate to interest rate swaps. The fair values of interest rate swaps have been determined using relevant yield curves and exchange rates as at the balance sheet date.

-     

Carrying value and fair values of certain financial instruments

The following table shows the carrying value of financial assets and financial liabilities.

 

	As at 31 March 2025 £m	As at 30 September 2024 £m
Financial assets measured at amortised cost
Cash and cash equivalents	207.4	254.8
Trade and other receivables	217.8	214.3
Total financial assets measured at amortised cost	425.2	469.1
Non-derivative financial liabilities measured at amortised cost
Bank loans	(240.6)	(326.3)
US private placement notes	(731.0)	(521.0)
Lease liabilities	(1,142.9)	(1,089.1)
Trade and other payables	(646.2)	(689.0)
Total financial liabilities measured at amortised cost	(2,760.7)	(2,625.4)

 

Financial assets and liabilities in the Group's consolidated balance sheet are either held at fair value, or their carrying value approximates to fair value, with the exception of loans, which are held at amortised cost. The fair value of total borrowings excluding lease liabilities, estimated using market prices at 31 March 2025, was £972.6m (30 September 2024: £847.8m).

 

Financial assets and liabilities are measured at fair value and are classified as level 2. This uses the fair value hierarchy whereby inputs, which are used in the valuation of these financial assets and liabilities have a significant effect on the fair value, are observable either directly or indirectly. There were no transfers during the period.

 

On 30 January 2025, the Group issued US Private Placement notes (the 'Notes') of EUR240m (approximately £201m) that mature on 30 January 2028 for €120m, and on 30 January 2030 for the remaining €120m. The notes represent SSP's fourth issuance in the US Private Placement market, following its issuances in 2018, 2019 and 2024 and carry a fixed rate of interest of 3.75% and 3.99% respectively. On 31 January 2025, the Group repaid £150.0m of its GBP Term Loan borrowings.

 

In January 2024 the Group entered into two interest rate swap agreements to fix the interest on a portion of its EUR and GBP Term Loans. The GBP agreement was terminated in the period.  The EUR interest rate swap mark-to-market value at 31 March 2025 was £0.7m (30 September 2024: £0.7m).

 

9             Related parties

Related party relationships exist with the Group's subsidiaries, associates, key management personnel, pension schemes and employee benefit trusts. A full explanation of the Group's related party relationships is provided on page 203 of the Annual Report and Accounts 2024.

There are no material transactions with related parties or changes in the related party transactions described in the last annual report that have had, or are expected to have, a material effect on the financial performance or position of the Group in the six-month period ended 31 March 2025.

 

Forward looking statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. Statements containing the words "believe", "expect", "intend", "may", "estimate", "anticipate"; "will"; "plans", "aims", "projects"; "may"; "would"; "could"; "should" or, in each case, their negative and words of similar meaning are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements include statements relating to the following: (i) future capital expenditures, expenses, revenues, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, dividend policy, losses and future prospects; and (ii) business and management strategies and the expansion and growth of the Company's operations. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect expected results and are based on certain key assumptions because they relate to events that may or may not occur in the future. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that the Group's actual financial condition, performance, results of operations and cash flows, and the development of the industry in which we operate, may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this document or other disclosures made by us or on the Group's behalf, including as a result of the macroeconomic and other impacts of Covid, economic and business cycles, the terms and conditions of the Group's financing arrangements, foreign currency rate fluctuations, competition in the Group's principal markets, acquisitions or disposals of businesses or assets and trends in the Group's principal industries.

 

In addition, even if the Group's financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and the development of the industry in which the Group operates are consistent with the forward-looking statements in this announcement, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement speak only as of the date of this announcement. Except where required to do so under applicable law or regulatory obligations, the Company and its Directors expressly disclaim any undertaking or obligation to update or publicly revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.