Saga, the travel and financial services provider for the over-50s demographic, has announced profits surpassing market predictions, fuelled by a surge in cruise demand.
The firm revealed this morning that its underlying pre-tax profit for the year ending January 31 stood at £47.8m, marking a 25% increase year on year, as reported by .
Annual revenue rose by 4% to reach £588.3m, while net debt decreased by 7% to £590.5m. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) climbed 18% to £137.1m.
CEO Mike Hazel attributed this progress to "[Progress] was driven by the strength of our Travel businesses, with especially high levels of customer demand for our differentiated ocean and river cruise offers."
Over the past year, Saga announced a 20-year partnership with Belgian insurance titan Ageas for motor and home insurance, which resulted in Saga's price-comparison website, pricing, claims handling, and customer service activities being taken over by Ageas.
Additionally, Saga agreed to sell off its insurance underwriting business.
According to Hazel, these strategic decisions, coupled with robust trading performance, enabled Saga to refinance its long-term corporate debt, replacing its 2026 debt maturities with new long-term credit facilities.
"The new facilities provide us with significant financing headroom and flexibility as we move forward," Hazell added.
"Following the completion of these important objectives, our focus has shifted to the long-term growth plans for the Group, building on our established businesses by continuing to explore complementary partnerships and unlocking new avenues for growth beyond our current business and product lines," he added.
In the trading update, Saga's financial performance was also reflected in its share price metrics, which have seen a decrease of 0.79% since the beginning of the year and a more significant decline of over 45% in the last five years.
