Saga Plc has said that it is on track to meet its annual profit outlook even as it flagged a one-off charge of £4 million related to the collapse of Thomas Cook last year.
The over-50s tourism and insurance firm, which earlier this year launched an overhaul of its mainstay insurance unit to battle margin pressures, said that the insurance business was in a much more stable position than a year ago.
"Although Saga continues to face challenging markets in insurance and travel, we have a clear focus on improving performance and cost efficiencies within the group," newly-appointed CEO Euan Sutherland said.
Annual Underlying Pre-Tax Profit Expectation
During its half-year results, Saga said that it expects annual underlying pre-tax profit of between £105 million and £120 million.
Coronavirus Concerns
In the backdrop of growing worries over the spread of the new coronavirus in China, which has raised concerns about travel demand, a Saga spokesperson said that the company does not have any tours to China until later in the year.
Annual Revenue Expectation
The company, which owns Saga Holidays, Saga Cruises, Titan and Destinology, expects annual revenue for Saga's tour operations to be down 5%, but added that it is seeing a "much more resilient picture" in its escorted tours.
Home And Motor Policies, And Customer Retention
Saga's branded home and motor policies are expected to be approximately 3% lower for the year that ended on January 31 as the insurance market remained competitive, however, customer retention of 75% was better than last year.
News by Reuters, edited by Hospitality Ireland. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
