Pre-tax profits at Saga grew by nearly 15% in the first six months of the year, on a like-for-like basis, in the group’s first results as a public company.

Chairman Andrew Goodsell said the over-50s holiday and insurance firm has been through an “historic period” as it revealed its first results since listing on the London Stock Exchange in May.

Although like-for-like pre-tax profits stood at to £106.5m, the cost of the flotation and new debt means profits before tax actually fell to £32.8m, down from £92.1m in the first half of last year.

The Folkestone-based company also saw a dip of more than £20m in like-for-like revenues to £583.5m caused by lower premiums in its motor insurance business and its decision to dedicate less time to its healthcare services as it listed on the stock market.

However, it watched operating profits grow 15.2% to £110m and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rise by 9.7% to £130.4m in the first half of the year.

Chief executive Lance Batchelor said: “I am very pleased to be able to announce that Saga has made a positive start to its life as a listed company, delivering a strong set of interim results that put us on track to meet market expectations for the full year.

“Saga is a unique business that occupies a position as a trusted brand and provider of products tailored to the 22.8m over 50s in the UK.

“That demographic is predicted to grow by more than 28% in the next 20 years and – as their wants and needs change – we will continue to work hard to capitalise on our insight and structural advantages to ensure the Saga offer is increasingly beneficial to our customers and delivers returns for our shareholders.”

The company also announced the appointment of new chief finance officer Jonathan Hill, who joins the business from New Ash Green-based house builder Bovis Homes, where he has done the same job for four years.

Prior to that he held senior roles at TUI Travel and Centrica.

He replaces Stuart Howard, who has decided to retire at the end of next year after more than 14 years in his current role.

The company’s financial results are welcome news after a turbulent start to life as a listed company, floating at the lower end of initial estimates at 185p a share before sinking further.

Share prices rose in early trading following today’s announcement but sit at 172.6p, well below its initial flotation value.

The firm became a member of the FTSE 250 in September.

Chairman Andrew Goodsell said: "This has been an historic period in the evolution of the Saga story.

“Despite all of this activity, the core fundamentals of the Saga business have not changed.

“We remain committed to making life better for people aged 50 and over by putting our customers at the heart of everything we do, providing the best possible products and services and finding new areas where we can apply our skill and focus to benefit our customers.

“This is the start of an exciting journey for Saga as a listed company and I look forward to working with the whole team to continue building a business we can all be proud of, one that makes life better for people aged 50 and over and that delivers returns for our shareholders.

“It therefore gives me great pleasure to be announcing such a solid set of numbers that put us on track to meet market expectations for the financial year to January 2015.”