UK's Saga forecasts annual profit jump on strong cruise, insurance demand

Sept 30 (Reuters) - Saga, a British over-50s holiday and insurance group, on Wednesday forecast materially higher annual profit and said it could meet its medium-term targets ahead of schedule, helped by strong demand for its cruises, holidays and travel insurance.

• The company expects full-year underlying profit before tax in the range of £65 million ($86.14 million) to £70 million, compared with £44.2 million reported last year

• The company said it expects to log at least £100 million of annual underlying profit before tax ahead of its January 2030 target

• Saga, however, flagged second-half risks from low European river levels and disruption linked to the Middle East conflict

• Saga has streamlined its operations in recent years, exiting insurance underwriting through the sale of Acromas Insurance Company to Ageas

• It also adopted a capital-light model focusing on customer ownership and distribution, while Ageas handles underwriting and claims

• Saga's underlying pretax profit rose 98% to £23.5 million for half-year period ended July 31

($1 = £0.7546)

(Reporting by Neeshita Beura in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)