TUI Travel guides towards upper end of profit forecasts
TUI Travel said its full year underlying operating profit growth would be towards the upper end of its previous guidance after a solid finish to the year.
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In the year to 30 September the FTSE 100 holiday group said it was confident of delivering growth of "at least 9%" on a constant currency basis, having guided the market to a range of 7% to 10%.
Chief executive Peter Long said trading during the summer 2014 peak season, particularly in the UK and Germany, was strong, with most programmes now almost fully sold thanks to increased customer demand for unique holidays and higher conversion rates from its web platforms.
TUI, which has agreed terms on a merger with its German parent company TUI AG, said its 'mainstream' model tour offering was the main driver of its outperformance, helped by higher average selling prices.
Overall, mainstream bookings traded broadly in line with the same period last year, despite strong year-on-year comparatives.
Germany enjoyed strong trading since the end of the nation's victorious World Cup, with package holidays up by 22%, overall bookings up 9% and margins ahead of last year.
Long said: "Our flexible and resilient business model is enabling us to deliver sustainable, profitable growth against a backdrop of more competitive trading in the commodity space and an increase in airline capacity."
Current trading remained encouraging, with winter 2014/15 mainstream bookings up 2% and a strong start to UK trading for summer 2015 as bookings rise 11%.