Saga Group’s travel business saw a year-on-year 9% rise in revenue to almost £424 million, with all three of its travel arms delivering profits in the 12 months to 31 January.
The group’s underlying pre-tax profit was up 25% to £47.8 million, compared to £38.2 million last year. Total group revenue was also up 4% to £588.3m, compared to £564.6m in the previous year.
Despite its growth, the Saga Group saw a 29% year-on-year rise in annual pre-tax losses from £123.8m to £160.2m.
The two-ship ocean cruise division continued to see growth, with underlying profit before tax reaching £48.9m, representing a 38% rise compared to £35.5m in the previous year. Revenue also jumped 10% to nearly £237m.
According to Saga, this is because of strong customer demand and achieving record levels of occupancy – with a 91% load factor – across its two ships.
It was a similar story for river cruising, which saw underlying profit before tax of £4m – up 33% from last year’s figure of £3 million. Its river cruise business revenue grew 13% from £43.8m to £49.4m, supported by a load factor of 89%.
Saga is adding to its river fleet with the addition of the Spriit of Moselle in July 2025.
Saga Group Chief Executive Officer Mike Hazell said: “I’m very pleased with the progress Saga has made over the past 12 months. From a trading perspective, we delivered a strong performance, with total underlying profit before tax up 25% and ahead of previous guidance. This was driven by the strength of our travel businesses, with especially high levels of customer demand for our differentiated ocean and river cruise offers.”
Saga said the sale of its insurance underwriting business is on track to be completed in the second quarter of 2025.
