Coveney-led SSP targets European profit margin boost

Upper Crust owner SSP, which runs cafes, bars and restaurants in train stations and airports in nearly 40 countries, said on Tuesday it plans to double its operating profit margin in its struggling Continental European business.
London-based SSP, which is led by former Greencore chief executive Patrick Coveney, said the performance of its biggest market in terms of sales, which accounted for 35 per cent of overall revenue in its 2024 fiscal year, was “disappointing”, partly due to rail strikes and weakness in one of its German businesses.
SSP named Satya Menard as its new CEO for Continental Europe in September and had also said that it would be exiting its underperforming German motorway services business in 2026.
“In Continental Europe, we are accelerating our profit recovery plan, in particular by building returns from the significant number of recently renewed and extended contracts,” Mr Coveney said in a statement.
SSP said it aimed to raise the regional unit’s operating profit margin to about 3 per cent in its current fiscal, up from 1.5 per cent.
Shares in SSP rose up to 10 per cent in early trade after it posted a 23 per cent jump in annual profit, in line with estimates. The FTSE 250 company’s shares have fallen nearly 31 per cent this year.
SSP said its year-end net debt was £593 million (€713 million), below the £610-630 million it had previously indicated.
The group, which operates out of nearly 600 locations globally, forecast annual revenue and operating profit in line with market forecasts.
It reported core profit of £343 million for the year ended Sept. 30, a rise of 23 per cent that was in line with a company-compiled average of analysts’ estimates.
Pub and restaurant firms, once severely impacted by the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, are now more confident about growth as energy and food cost inflation subsides.
SSP also said revenue grew 13 per cent in the first eight weeks of its new fiscal year, which began on October 1. – Reuters