Saga buoyed by high demand for cruises
CUSTOMERS have rushed to snap up berths on a new cruise ship being launched by over50s specialists Saga.
Spirit Of Discovery will carry up to 999 passengers when it takes to the seas in July 2019.
Its first voyage around the UK is fully booked, and there is strong demand for trips to destinations such as the Norwegian fjords and the Mediterranean. The first 19 cruises are now 50pc booked, with 9,000 tickets sold.
It came as Saga unveiled a 7.6pc drop in profits to £178.7m for 2017 after the collapse of business partner Monarch Airlines and tough market conditions at its insurance division.
But bosses raised the total annual dividend by 5.9pc to 9p per share, and cut debt to £432m. Investors cheered the figures and shares rose 5.7pc, or 6.7p, to 123.7p.
Saga is replacing its two old ships to boost income from cruises. Spirit Of Discovery will get a sister ship, Spirit Of Adventure, in 2020.