Shares in British travel operator Thomas Cook spiked on Tuesday, after reiterating its profit guidance for 2016.
An attack on tourists in Istanbul in January and a failed coup in July led to a significant drop in demand for summer holidays to Turkey, with Thomas Cook warning in July of a quarterly loss and a lower profit guidance.
However, for the twelve months to September 30th Thomas Cook reiterated its operating profit of £300 million, helped by an 8 percent increase in bookings outside of Turkey.
Thomas Cook (LON:TCG) shares rose 4 percent on the news at market open, before dropping back down. They are currently trading up 0.14 percent at 70.10 (0918GMT).
Peter Fankhauser, Thomas Cook’s chief executive, commented:
“The summer season has progressed largely as expected. Customers’ desire to go abroad on holiday has remained strong with the exception of Turkey where demand continues to be volatile. To date, sales for the winter season are in line with last year while sales so far for summer 2017 suggest customers are booking early in an effort to secure their first-choice destination and hotel.”
Travel operators have had a tricky time of late, with terrorist attacks in Tunisia, Istanbul and across Europe impacting strongly on consumer demand. Thomas Cook’s largest competitor, TUI, have felt less of an impact from a drop in Turkish holiday demand after limiting their exposure to the region.
27/09/2016
