Return of commuters gives Upper Crust owner SSP much-needed sales boost
Upper Crust owner SSP has seen a boost in sales at its travel stores but is still far below pre-pandemic levels, the company said this morning.
Bosses said there was a significant improvement in the past three months as lockdown restrictions ease, but they remain around just 47 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
The company said domestic travel, which makes up around 60% of all sales, alongside leisure travel is recovering more rapidly than international and business travel.
In the last week alone, revenue was around 53 per cent of 2019 levels – a vast improvement on the three months to the end of June when they stood at just 27 per cent.
The more recent recovery was due to 60 per cent of sites in travel hubs being able to reopen, compared with just 30 per cent in the previous quarter.
The strongest trading has been in continental Europe, where bosses saw a strong recovery in rail travel and a busy summer holiday season in airports.
North America is also seeing a recovery in domestic air travel, the company said.
In the UK, sales in the last three months are expected to be 43 per cent of 2019 levels following the easing of lockdown restrictions in July, with growth being driven by the rail sector, it added.
But sales remain hit in other regions where the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out has generally been slower, including Australia and Thailand, with sales in the last three months expected to be only 29 per cent of 2019 levels.
Overall, the company said it now expects to make a profit in the quarter following tight cost management and tapping into Government support, where available.