Member Article

TUI profits slip following £188 million write-off

Travel operator TUI has seen profits slip from £201 million in 2012 to £181 million in 2013, following poorer performance of its French business.

The group, which owns Thomson and First Choice, wrote off £188 million in restructuring of its specialist and activity division - the arm of TUI that incorporates dedicated sports and adventure holiday brands.

TUI’s UK business delivered a £54 million improvement in underlying operating profit to £251 million during the year.

“General weakness” in the French economy and low demand for North African holidays meant the firm’s French division made a loss of £60 million, a further slip from £47 million in 2012.

Continued unrest in Egypt was also said to have impacted TUI’s emerging markets division, which recorded a loss of £12 million.

Peter Long, chief executive of TUI Travel PLC, said: “The year has been outstanding and highlights that our strategy of delivering unique holidays sold directly to our customers is the right one.

“We have once again reported record underlying profits across the business, significantly exceeding the top end of our growth roadmap target of 10%. This follows strong margins across the peak Summer period, particularly in the UK and accelerated business improvement delivery.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .