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LONDON - Saga plc, the UK specialist in products and services for people over 50, reported first-half results ahead of expectations on Wednesday, driven primarily by strong performance in its travel business.
For the six months ended July 31, 2025, the company posted a profit before tax of £3.7 million, marking a significant turnaround from a £116.9 million loss in the same period last year. Trading EBITDA grew 8% to £67.5 million, while underlying revenue increased 7% to £320.5 million.
Despite the positive trading performance, underlying profit before tax decreased 5% to £23.5 million, which the company attributed to increased financing costs associated with its new corporate debt facility.
Saga’s travel segment showed particularly strong results, with the company reporting higher passenger numbers across its ocean and river cruise operations. In July, Saga launched its newest river cruise ship, Spirit of the Moselle, which the company says is already trading well.
The company completed the sale of its Insurance Underwriting business to Ageas on July 1, 2025, generating higher net cash than previously guided. Saga’s 20-year insurance partnership with Ageas remains on track to launch in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Net debt improved by £102.1 million to £515.1 million, with the leverage ratio decreasing from 4.8x to 4.3x compared to the same period last year.
"A strong first half trading performance, ahead of our expectations, gives us confidence in achieving full year Underlying Profit Before Tax, which is now in line with the prior year," the company stated in its outlook.
Saga reaffirmed its long-term targets of achieving underlying profit before tax of at least £100 million by January 2030, with leverage falling below 2.0x in the same period.
The information in this article is based on a press release statement from Saga plc.
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