Thomas Cook 'performing well'

29th Mar 2011 07:06

Travel company Thomas Cook has kept its estimate of disruption from the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia to £20m and says, overall, the business is performing well.Ahead of interim results on 9 May, it said travel restrictions to Egypt and Tunisia resulted in about 150,000 cancellations, of which 110,000 were for travel to Egypt.That cost it around £5m in repatriation costs and £15m of lost margin, all of which was felt in the three months to 31 March. Bookings, capacity and booked load factors across all markets are lower than previously reported for winter season holidays though, mainly due to cancellations following the unrest in North Africa But summer holiday bookings are ahead of last year in many areas, said boss Manny Fontenla-Novoa said. There's been particularly strong growth in the German tour operator and airline, as well as in Northern Europe."It is a weaker picture in the UK where recent trading has also been affected by fragile consumer sentiment. In response, we have taken a more prudent approach to capacity," he said.LW