Airport food outlet operator SSP forecasts resilient travel demand after strong Q1

(Reuters) - SSP Group, which operates food outlets such as Upper Crust at airports and train stations globally, on Tuesday posted an over 14% sales growth in its first quarter, buoyed by a rebound in leisure travel, and also forecast travel demand to remain resilient.

Air travel rebounded last year, particularly in North America and Europe, as more passengers took holidays and business trips despite broader pressure on consumer spending.

"There continues to be encouraging momentum in our key growth markets of North America and Asia Pacific and we have also delivered double-digit like-for-like growth in our more established markets of the UK & Ireland and Continental Europe," CEO Patrick Coveney said in a statement.

SSP, which operates out of around 600 locations across the world and deploys about 550 brands including its own concepts such as Camden Food Co, said robust trading continued across all the regions with the strongest performances coming from its North America, Asia Pacific and Europe, Eurasia and the Middle East (EEME) markets.

The London-headquartered firm, which has franchises such as Burger King and Starbucks, said it expects the trading momentum to continue in the second quarter despite potential impact from industrial action in both Continental Europe and the UK regions.

SSP, which earns more than two-thirds of its turnover from airports, said like-for-like sales in the three months to Dec. 31 grew 14.3% year-on-year.

(This story has been refiled to remove an incorrect picture)

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Sonia Cheema)