SSP Group reveals increased sales in Q3, notes regional differences
Group sales in Q3 were up 6% year-on- year, on a constant currency basis, with like-for-like sales growth of 3%
SSP Group has issued a Trading Update covering Q3 of its 2025 financial year (1 April to 30 June 2025) and the nine-month period ended 30 June 2025.
Group sales in Q3 were up 6% year-on-year, on a constant currency basis, with like-for-like sales growth of 3%, net contract gains of 4% and a 1% contribution from acquisitions.
Group sales also included a combined impact of -2% from the staged exit of the company’s German Motorway Services business and the deconsolidation of its AAHL joint venture in India.
Like-for-like sales growth in the first six weeks of the quarter was 5%, as reported in Interim Results on May 20. Like-for-like sales growth in the last seven weeks of the quarter moderated to 1%, “reflecting a softening of like-for-like sales in the UK and Asia PAC & EEME”. According to the Trading Update, like-for-like sales growth improved to around 3% in the first three weeks of the fourth quarter.
In North America, sales grew by 5% year-on-year, on a constant currency basis, including strong net gains but with like-for-like sales declining by 2%, reflecting lower passenger numbers compared to the prior year. This follows recent geopolitical events in the US which led to a fall in air travel in late spring and early summer.
In Continental Europe, sales were flat year-on-year, including like-for-like sales up 1%, reflecting weaker levels of consumer spending in many markets, which has primarily affected the rail sector.
In the UK, sales rose by 7%, driven by strong like-for-like sales at the beginning of the quarter, helped by the timing of Easter. The M&S systems issues, following its cyber incident in mid-April, affected UK like-for-like sales during the quarter, however sales have since recovered.
In APAC and EEME, sales increased by 16%, as good passenger growth in Malaysia, Egypt and Australia drove strong like-for-like sales of 9% across the region. However, like-for-like sales softened towards the end of the quarter due to the impact of rising geopolitical tensions and air safety incidents across the region. Sales benefitted from the acquisition of ARE in Australia, which reached its anniversary in May and has been treated as like-for-like since then.
For the nine-month period from 1 October 2024 to 30 June 2025, total Group revenues increased by 10%. At actual exchange rates, total Group revenues increased by 7% year on year.
Outlook
As outlined at the Interim Results on 20 May 2025, SSP had planned for a degree of uncertainty in demand for the second half and has accelerated its program cost efficiencies and other initiatives to drive improved margins, cash conversion and investment returns.
“As a result, and with an improved trading momentum at the start of the fourth quarter, we remain on track to deliver results within our planning assumption ranges for the year at constant currency,” SSP Group stated.
