TUI Travel PLC have announced encouraging results in their first completed quarter as a fully merged business. The results for the 3 month period ending 31s December 2007 show a £73 million improvement in underlying operating loss , from £114 in Q1 07 to £41 million in Q1 08.
Peter Long, Chief Executive Officer of TUI Travel commented: “We are very pleased with our performance during Q1, our first as a fully merged business.”
TUI report that the integration of their leading tour operating franchises, Thomson and First Choice, is progressing very well and that they remain on track to achieve the projected synergy target of £150 million, with Peter Long adding: “I remain confident that the group will meet the board’s expectations for the year and that the merger will prove to be highly successful.”
Current trading remains strong for both Winter 2007/08 and Summer 2008 across the group. The TUI Winter programme has performed in line with expectations and has enjoyed a sales increase of 4%. Volumes are only down 7% despite capacity being reduced by 11%. Trading for Summmer 2008 has remained strong for TUI, with sales up by 9% on flat volumes. Sales for both medium and long haul destinations have increased year on year by 23% and 7% respectively. In the specialist sector, TUI’s recent trading has been encouraging, with sales in the activity holidays market up by 4% and sales in the specialist holidays market up by 6%.
In the quarter ending 21st December 2007, TUI Travel PLC acquired four businesses within high growth niche segments for a maximum total consideration of £20.8 million. In the Activity Holidays sector, TUI acquired the adventure operator, Australian Pinnacle Tours and the leading UK school operator of ski holidays to Austria, CHS Tour Services. In the specialist Holidays sector, TUI acquired an American based cruise handling business, Cruiselink II Ltd and a US travel service for high school performing art groups called National Events.
In addition to these four acquisitions, TUI Travel extended their reach into the North American cruise handling market with the January purchase of Destination Florida, a Miami based company providing shore side service to large cruise holiday companies in the ports of Florida. Increasing their reach into the Activity Holidays market, TUI Travel also completed the January acquisition of Planet Perth, another Australian adventure operator.
The TUI Travel PLC group was formed on 3rd September 2007, through a business combination of the tourism business of TUI AG (Thomson Holidays) with First Choice Holidays PLC.
