Investment accounts
Adult accounts
Child accounts
Choosing Fidelity
Choosing Fidelity
Why invest with us Current offers Fees and charges Open an account Transfer investments
Financial advice & support
Fidelity’s Services
Fidelity’s Services
Financial advice Retirement Wealth Management Investor Centre (London) Bereavement
Guides
Guidance and tools
Shares
Share dealing
Choose your shares
Tools and information
Tools and information
Share prices and markets Chart and compare shares Stock market news Shareholder perks Stock plan guidance
Pensions & retirement
Pensions, tax & tools
Saving for retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Speak to a specialist Creating a retirement plan Taking tax-free cash Pension drawdown Annuities Investing in retirement Investment Pathways
Simplified Saga makes solid start to year
(Sharecast News) - Saga reported a solid start to its financial year on Tuesday, with trading for the first four months to 23 June in line with expectations across all divisions. The London-listed over-50s specialist, which was holding its annual general meeting, said it was on track to meet full-year targets, buoyed by strength in its travel and insurance businesses.
Cruise operations performed strongly, with booked load factors for ocean and river cruises ahead of the same period last year at 95% and 93% respectively.
The company also reported growth in per diems.
Holiday bookings were up 14% by revenue and 13% by passenger numbers year-on-year.
Saga's insurance underwriting arm, Acromas Insurance Company, continued to meet expectations as the sale of the business to subsidiaries of Ageas progressed.
Completion was on schedule for 31 July.
The group's insurance broking operation was also trading in line with forecasts, with the transition to a 20-year partnership with Ageas expected to conclude in the fourth quarter.
Saga also announced that it was in final negotiations with NatWest on a new banking partnership, initially covering savings products.
The deal would combine NatWest's banking infrastructure with Saga's customer insight and marketing reach.
Net debt stood at £569.5m as of 31 May, down from £622.7m a year earlier, with available cash of £96.7m.
"I am pleased to report that Saga has started the financial year on a positive note, with all our businesses performing well and in line with expectations," said chief executive Mike Hazell.
"Looking ahead, we are focussed on continuing to grow our travel and money businesses, while successfully transitioning to our new simplified insurance model.
"We are progressing well with our medium-term plans and the potential new partnership with NatWest is another good example of this."
Interim results for the six months to 31 July would be released on 24 September, Saga confirmed.
At 0927 BST, shares in Saga were down 0.6% at 170.58p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Share this article
Related Sharecast Articles
Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Award-winning online share dealing
Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.
Expert insights into investing your money
Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.
Policies and important information
Accessibility | Conflicts of interest statement | Consumer Duty Target Market | Consumer Duty Value Assessment Statement | Cookie policy | Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Reports | Doing Business with Fidelity | Investing in Fidelity funds | Legal information | Modern slavery | Mutual respect policy | Privacy statement | Remuneration policy | Staying secure | Statutory and Regulatory disclosures | Whistleblowing programme
Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, the performance of investments is not guaranteed, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. This website does not contain any personal recommendations for a particular course of action, service or product. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and, if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Before opening an account, please read the ‘Doing Business with Fidelity’ document which incorporates our client terms. Prior to investing into a fund, please read the relevant key information document which contains important information about the fund.
This website is issued by Financial Administration Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FCA Register number 122169) and registered in England and Wales under company number 1629709 whose registered address is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP.
