TUI Group reports robust results despite Tunisia tragedy

TUI said in its third quarter results statement, released on Thursday, that the attacks on holiday makers in Tunisia in June, which led to 38 people being killed when a man open fire on a beach, as well as the uncertainty over the fate of Greece just before its referendum in July, is going to hurt its bottomline.

Travel operator Tui Group has announced how much its profits will be hit by the beach attack in Tunisia in June.

“Our priority has been to support our customers, their families and our colleagues impacted by these horrendous event and this will continue”.

Before the attacks Tui sent half a million tourists a year to Tunisia, with the North African country accounting for 3% of total bookings.

TUI has already stumped up £7 million ($11 million) in repatriation and cancellation costs following the Tunisia tragedy. “I am immensely proud of the commitment and dedication that we as an organisation have collectively shown”.

TUI set out details of the impact in a trading update for the third quarter to the end of June.

But the group said bookings had improved in more recent weeks and cumulative bookings remained ahead of the year before. The company also expanded its summer holiday programme, adding 26 new flights to destinations in Spain, Cyprus and Bulgaria to allow customers bound for Tunisia to rebook holidays.

“We are continuing to deliver our growth strategy as the world’s leading tourism business”.

Group underlying pre-tax earnings before interest and amortisation for the quarter increased to €194mln from €164mln a year ago, or to €185mln excluding the earlier timing of Easter and the positive impact of foreign exchange translation. TUI said summer trading had been robust and it now expected underlying core earnings (EBITA) to rise by between 12.5 and 15 percent in the current financial year, against a previous forecast for between 10 and 15 percent.

In spite of events in Tunisia and Greece, tourism earnings growth was driven by Cruise, Hotels & Resorts and a strong performance by the UK.