Shares of Saga Plc (SAGA.L) were gaining around 13 percent on the London Stock exchange after the specialist in products and services for people over 50 Thursday said it traded ahead of expectations in the six months to January 28.
The company also projects underlying profit before tax for the year would be ahead of the prior year.
In its trading update for the period from August 1, 2025 to January 28, the company said Ocean Cruise has reported load factor of 93%, a 2ppt improvement on the 91% previously achieved in the prior year.
River Cruise Underlying Profit Before Tax has also continued to grow, achieving a load factor of 89%, in line with last year.
Holidays is expected to report a stronger Underlying Profit Before Tax than last year, supported by booked revenue growth of around 13% and passenger growth of 11%.
For the year, trading EBITDA is still expected to be ahead of last year.
Looking ahead to 2027, the company said Ocean Cruise booked load factor is 70%, 3ppts ahead of the same point in the prior year.
Mike Hazell, Saga Group Chief Executive Officer, said, "As we look ahead, we expect the momentum to continue to build in our Cruise and Holidays businesses, while in Insurance Broking we expect Underlying Profit Before Tax to be in line with previous guidance. We continue to make progress against our longer term plans and are currently ahead of our expected trajectory. We remain confident of delivering underlying profitability of at least £100.0m, and leverage below 2.0x by January 2030."
The company plans to release preliminary results for the year ending 31 January 2026 on April 15.
In London, Saga plc shares were trading at 492.37 pence, up 13.45%.
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