Shares in over 50s travel and insurance group Saga (LON:SAGA) sailed higher after it reported H1 profit which nearly doubled. The firm said its ‘excellent’ performance reinforced its confidence in exceeding its medium-term targets early.
Strong H1 revenue growth
For the six months to July, Saga posted a 12% increase in group revenue to £367.5 million. The Travel business delivered underlying revenue of £282.1 million, up 14% on the previous year.
Within Travel, Ocean Cruise also grew revenue 14% to £149.5 million while Holidays grew revenue 9% to £97.7 million. River Cruise made up the balance with revenue of £4.9 million, up 33% on H1 2025.
The Insurance business contributed revenue of £71.7 million, up 12%, with policies in force up 5% to 1.3 million. The firm made ‘good progress’ transitioning its motor and home policies to Ageas and has already received £10.5 million in contingent payments.
Saga H1 2027 results
| H1 2027 | H1 2026 | Change | |
| Revenue (£m) | 367.5 | 328.2 | 12% |
| EBITDA (£m) | 90.9 | 67.5 | 35% |
| Pre-tax profit (£m) | 46.6 | 23.5 | 98% |
| Leverage | 2.7x | 4.3x | -1.6x |
Source: Company accounts
Profit and leverage to exceed targets early
Underlying pre-tax profit for the first six months nearly doubled to £46.6 million, driven by increases across all divisions. Travel profits rose 45%, helped by a doubling at the Holidays business, while Insurance profits rose 75%.
As a result, the firm raised its FY27 underlying pre-tax profit forecast to between £65 million and £70 million. The current consensus as compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence puts FY27 profit at around £56 million.
CEO Mike Hazell said the firm was ‘ahead of its trajectory’ and would exceed its medium-term targets early. In April 2025, Saga set out targets of £100 million of profit and leverage of under 2x by January 2030.
The message from today’s update is don’t bet against the over 50s and their insatiable appetite for travel experiences. Whereas many firms are blaming geopolitical and economic uncertainty for their woes, Saga and its customers sail serenely on, seemingly without a care.
Ocean cruising has a 92% load factor, meaning just an 8% vacancy rate, while per diem revenue is up 13% to £440. River cruises also had a 92% load factor, the same as last year, with per diem revenue up to £376.
Profit at the Holiday business doubled, and for the frist time since the pandemic the firm has expanded its long-haul destinations. Here in the UK, summer stays at universities proved popular and its Christmas holidays have almost sold out.
Today’s rally takes the gains for the year to 87% and gains from the 2024 low to over 600%. That makes us wonder if we haven’t missed the boat, although the shares did trade with a £30 handle not that long ago.
