SSP boss Kate Swann upbeat despite fear of terror slowdown at airports
Kate Swann, the boss behind 34 shops, cafés and bars at Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, has dismissed fears of a slowdown in business after the recent terror attacks on the French capital.
The chief executive of SSP, which runs WH Smith, Burger King and other brands in airports and travel hubs across the world, said: “It’s too soon to tell, but long-term trends in passenger numbers are really buoyant.
“Even with major events like 9/11, passengers are resilient and the numbers soon returned.”
She added that during the Sharm el-Sheikh airport lockdown following a bomb explosion on a Russian airliner, sales rose as all flights were grounded, and pointed out that SSP has seen years of political instability in Egypt.
Her comments come as SSP saw sales rise just 0.3% to £1.8 billion. However, pre-tax profits jumped 14.7% to £82 million thanks to a boost in margins.
It led to a maiden dividend of 4.3p per share, although based on today’s share price of 297.7p that is a yield of just 1.4%.
