- Saga
- 15 April 2026 10:59:00
Source: Sharecast
In the year to the end of January 2026, the company - which specialises in products for the over-50s - swung to a pre-tax profit of £2.1m from a loss of £160.2m the year before.
Underlying pre-tax profit was up 19% at £44.2m versus consensus expectations of £42.9m, despite expected higher finance costs, while underlying revenue rose 11% to £654.6m, with growth across both travel and insurance. This resulted in a 16% jump in trading EBITDA to £134.9m.
Saga said the leverage ratio fell to 3.7x from 4.4x. Looking ahead, the company remains confident in achieving at least £100m of annual underlying pre-tax profit and the leverage ratio falling below 2.0x by January 2030.
Chief executive Mike Hazell said: "This has been a transformational year for Saga. The restructuring of our insurance business, and the partnership with Ageas, derisks and simplifies our operating model, creating a more stable platform for growth. Alongside this, we continued to see growth across all our travel businesses, driven in particular by the newly combined management team's relentless focus on delivering differentiated travel experiences designed with the needs of our customers in mind.
"The result was an excellent trading performance that drove growth across all our core businesses, and a strong financial performance, with underlying profit before tax and the leverage ratio significantly ahead of our original guidance."
At 1055 BST, the shares were up 10.8% at 645.07p.
Broker Peel Hunt reiterated its 'buy' rating and 700p price target on the shares after the results. It said current trading is encouraging but there is still a long way to go and its forecasts remain at the top of the range.
"The time and effort freed up by the restructuring of travel and insurance can now be applied to driving growth," it said.
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