Thomas Cook reports growing profits, shrinking debt
Thomas Cook expects this year’s pre-tax earnings to be between £315 million and £335 million, equivalent to growth of between 39% and 48%.
In an upbeat statement, group chief executive Harriet Green said she expected the group’s 2014 performance to show ‘material improvement’ on last year.
She said there had been strong late summer bookings in all of its major source markets, with demand for its Concept hotels up 43% year on year.
The UK summer programme is 92% sold, the same as this time last year. Volumes are the same but the average selling prices are 4% down, mainly due to a change in product mix, said the operator, and more capacity in the market. It’s own capacity was up 1% over last year.
However, the impact of weaker prices was offset by its cost-cutting measures, which are ahead of targets, it said.
Green said the Group would achieve cost out and profit improvement benefits of more than £360 million by the end of the financial year, and as a result, it expects to increase its target for 2015.
Thomas Cook’s winter programme is 29% sold, with bookings and average selling prices higher than last year, and summer 2015 bookings are ‘encouraging’, she said.
Cook expects to cut its net debt from £788 million at the end of 2012 to between £300 million and £350 million by the end of the financial year.
Online bookings from its new website, launched at the end of May, are up 10% from desktop computers, 60% from tablets, and 216% from mobiles.
"In the first 24 months of our transformation, we have delivered strong profit growth and look forward to reporting a ninth consecutive quarter of increased profitability in the final three months of this financial year," added Green.
She said the group expects to cut its net debt from £788 million at the end of 2012 to between £300 million and £350 million by the end of the financial year.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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