Saga Group plc, the British tourism to financial services group that targets customers aged 50 or more, said forward sales of the first of its two newbuildings are going well.

Meanwhile the current cruise operations of the group reported a stable result for the first six months of the year.

“Spirit of Discovery forward sales continue to meet our ambitious plan with over 64% of our sales target for the first 19 cruises already achieved at attractive rates,” the company said in its first half 2018 interim report.

Saga Cruising delivered a 6.0% increase in revenue to £47.6 million, reflecting an increase in passenger days of 3,000 with increased capacity. There were no scheduled maintenance days in the period compared with 19 days of maintenance on the Saga Pearl in the comparable period in 2017.

The gross profit for Cruising was impacted by the treatment of hedging gains on fuel. Owing to the significant rise in the price of oil through December 2017 and January 2018, the year-end derivatives charge included a £1.6 million mark-to-market benefit on undesignated fuel hedges related to the current financial year. Of this, £0.8 million related to the first half of the year.  This will not be an issue after this financial year with the introduction of IFRS9, which will enable improved matching of hedging contracts.

Underlying Profit Before Tax from the Cruising business was £4.8 million, barely changed from the £4.7 million in the same period last year. “Increased marketing spend was partially offset by cost savings from operational efficiencies,” the company said.

Commenting on the results, Lance Batchelor, Group Chief Executive Officer, said in the report: "Travel has delivered a solid performance and we are seeing encouraging demand for our new ship, Spirit of Discovery, in line with our ambitious plan. Construction is on track, with keel laying this summer, ahead of her maiden cruise next year.”