Wider losses for Thomas Cook after merger

Thomas Cook, the second-largest travel operator in Europe, reported first-half losses of 191.3 million pounds, largely due to costs related to its merger with MyTravel.

The tour operator revealed in a statement that company earnings for the six months, ending April 30, were compared against a 30.1 million pounds loss during the same period for fiscal year 2006/07.

The group said, however, that its underlying performance continues to be strong, despite the record-high cost of oil. Thomas Cook revenue increased by 7.5 percent to 2.96 billion pounds for the first half of this financial year, and the Group declared a 3.25 pence per share interim dividend.

“I’m delighted with our performance over the winter and we are in a very good position for the summer season,” said the group’s chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa.

“I remain confident that we will achieve our goals for this year. For the longer term, our strategy is on track, our merger synergies are coming through, and we continue to target 480 million pounds of operating profit in 2009/10.”

Thomas Cook noted that its performance in the UK “continues to perform strongly,” even with 19 percent fewer holidays to offer compared with 2007.

“For winter 08/09, the UK and Northern Europe are the only markets currently on sale and early trading remains encouraging,” the company added.

www.thomascook.com