Hardy holidaymakers help Saga chart a better course
Saga's “robust” army of over-fifties travellers are still flocking onto the cruises despite Brexit, boss Lance Batchelor said today.
A poll of its customers by the firm — which takes around 230,000 people a year away on holiday — showed more than 99% are determined to stick with their plans.
Batchelor said: “Saga customers are a pretty robust bunch, we have been sending them away for 60 years... and frankly they will carry on travelling whatever. They are living on retirement money, not bonuses.”
The firm has already hit most of its sales targets for this financial year and is ahead of schedule for 2017/18.
The company took a £4.7 million hit on the refit of its Sapphire cruise ship, but overall pre-tax profits were up 8.5% to £109.9 million in the six months to July 31 and the dividend is up 23%.
Saga’s insurance business is meanwhile benefiting from a climate of higher premiums, paying out less in claims and a 12% rise in the number of policies compared to last year.
The group’s total number of customers is up 4% to 2.7 million. Shares rose 0.5p to 222.3p.
