The group, which is controlled by the Benetton family and is set to be taken over by Swiss duty-free retailer Dufry, said the result was driven by the recovery of international airport traffic and the resilience of passenger movements at U.S airports and on motorways in Europe.

Autogrill confirmed its guidance for 2022, with revenue for the year of around 3.8 billion euros and free cash flow of about 200 million euros.

In July, Dufry agreed to buy Autogrill, creating a travel industry giant to take advantage of growth opportunities as the sector rebounds.

($1 = 1.0228 euros)

(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro and Alvise Armellini, editing by Agnieszka Flak)