Saga, the over-50s holiday and insurance giant, has told shareholders it “continued to trade strongly” in the second half of last year.

The Folkestone-based company, which employs nearly 4,500 people, of which 3,000 work in Kent, is on course to meet financial expectations for the year, it said in a trading update for the period since August 1.

It said “significant progress” has been made analysing its customer database “to identify key drivers of future value for the business”.

Last year, it increased annual pre-tax profits by 55% to £176.2 million, two years after floating on the London Stock Exchange with a market value of £2.1 billion with a share price of 185p.

Saga shares were down slightly in early trading this morning at 196p.

Chief executive Lance Batchelor said: “The business continues to perform well, with our core insurance and travel divisions both demonstrating consistency in delivering robust results.

“I am pleased that this means we expect to report results in line with our expectations for the full year.”