Thomas Cook reports rise in quarterly earnings

31st Jul 2014 10:37

Thomas Cook Group's quarterly earnings rose as summer bookings at the travel company grew.Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose to £33m in the three months ended 30 June from £1m the same period a year earlier.Summer 2014 bookings for the company's concept and partnership hotels compared with the same period last year jumped 43% to 615,492 and 10% to 746,559, respectively. Winter 14/15 bookings for concept hotels are up 11%. UK bookings and average selling prices for hotels in Summer 2015 are already up significantly, the company said."Based on these trends and our more flexible and dynamically packaged products, we expect to achieve our new product revenue targets."The group said its transformation plans were progressing well with new products that are expected to "significantly improve" profitability. "As a stronger and more resilient business, our operational performance remains in line with our expectations for full year 2014 and we look forward to delivering more value in full year 2015 and onwards," said chief executive Harriet Green.RD