Thomas Cook lays bare disappointing year
TRAVEL COMPANY Thomas Cook has released further details of a “disappointing” financial year, two days after its share price plunged following a profit warning.
The group unveiled a loss after tax of £163m, compared with a profit of £9m this time last year.
As the company previously flagged in an unscheduled statement on Tuesday, underlying earnings were £58m lower at £250m in the year to September 30.
This was put down to additional charges, including flight disruption, writedowns on money owed by some hotels, and transformation costs, as well as delayed demand for its tour holidays amid the heatwave.
The company said the warm weather in Europe meant many customers had delayed holidaybooking decisions, with the UK particularly slow.
Peter Fankhauser, chief executive of Thomas Cook, said: “Looking ahead, we must learn the lessons from 2018 and go into the new year focused on where we can make a difference to customers in our core holiday offering. We will put particular attention on addressing the performance in our UK tour operator, where the challenges of transformation in a competitive environment remain significant.”
Revenue was up 6 per cent on a like-for-like basis at £9.58bn. Net debt widened from £40m to £389m.
Shares in Thomas Cook were down in early trading, but avoided a major drop, having already plummeted by as much as 30 per cent on Tuesday.
David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said the mood among traders was still nervous.
“The travel operator has been struggling in 2018, and things are getting worse as the year goes on.
“The group issued two profit warnings in two months, and that has sent investors running scared.
“The industry as a whole has been under-performing. The extreme weather this year hurt the travel industry, as the ‘Beast from the East’ and the heatwave was a double negative for the sector.
“Adding to that, industrial action and the rally in oil price over the summer made matters worse.”
Thomas Cook said shareholders will not receive a full-year dividend.
The travel operator has been struggling in 2018. David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK