Thomson Holidays operator TUI Group reports UK growth

TUI Group, the multinational travel and tourism company, has increased its earnings, staff count and total UK customers in the three months ending June 30.

The group, which owns UK-based travel operator Thomson Holidays, reported underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of €297.8m (about £212.2m), a year-on-year increase of 20%.

The group’s turnover also grew in the three-month period, from €4.8bn (£3.4bn) last year to around €5.1bn (£3.62bn) in 2015, a rise of 6.4%.

In the nine-month period ending June 30, TUI Group saw its customer numbers in the UK increase by 4%, with the growth attributed to expansion of the Boeing B787 long-haul programme and a rise in the demand for TUI-unique destinations.

In the UK, online transactions accounted for 54% of all bookings.

Peter Long and Friedrich Joussen, TUI Group’s chief executives, said: “Tourism earnings growth was driven by Cruise, Hotels & Resorts and a strong performance by the UK.

“Hotelbeds Group has also delivered growth in earnings. Based on current trading we are confident of delivering underlying EBITA growth of 12.5 % to 15% in the current financial year and at least 10% underlying EBITA CAGR (compound annual growth rate) over the next three years.”

The three months to June 30 also saw the total number of people employed by TUI Group rise to 77,903, which is an increase of 1.8% since the same point in 2014.

The group’s Hotels & Resorts arm saw the largest year-on-year increase in turnover (29%) during the period, with Specialist Group (17%) coming in second and Northern Region, which comprises the UK and Ireland, Russia, Canada and the Nordic countries, third with an increase of 12.4%.

Profits could however take a hit over the next quarter, following the terrorist attack on holidaymakers in Sousse, Tunisia, on June 26.