Saga trades in line with expectations in four months to May end

(Reuters) - Saga Plc (SAGAG.L), which recently overhauled its travel business, said on Thursday it traded in line with the company's expectations for the four months to May 31.

The provider of over-50s travel and insurance was forced to restructure the travel business after its tour operations was hurt by the collapse of Monarch Airlines last October.

Saga has seen an increase in business from affluent older Britons and in April said it had seen strong demand for its long-haul trips, with growing requests for travel to India, as well as to Greece and Cyprus.

Saga said on Thursday that tour bookings for 2019-2020 were flat year on year, but had picked up momentum recently.

The company added that bookings for its new cruise ship, Spirit of Discovery, were at 55 percent of its sales target for the first nine months from June 2019, at attractive yields.

Saga said motor claims costs were in line with expectations despite the snow and icy weather conditions during the period as the company's customers were able to defer journeys.

Saga brand retail insurance policies rose about 1 percent year on year, with strong growth in motor policies, the company said.

(Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)