TUI second-quarter losses narrow to €167.8 million

TUI, the German tour operator that merged with TUI Travel last year, said its second-quarter loss narrowed as integration of the two companies is progressing faster than expected.

The underlying loss before interest, taxes and amortization was €167.8 million in the three months through March, compared with €201.6 million a year earlier, Hanover-based TUI said in a statement on Wednesday.

Bookings for the summer season have risen 2 per cent, with 59 per cent of the offering sold.

Co-chief executive officers Friedrich Joussen and Peter Long are adding hotels and cruise ships after the company combined with Crawley, England-based TUI Travel.

Johan Lundgren, who runs the package-tour business, a main earnings contributor, will leave as the company divides his area of responsibility into three regions for faster decisions and more local management, TUI said on Tuesday.

“The integration is going ahead much quicker and faster than we thought,” Joussen said in an interview posted on the company’s website.

“So we decided to dismantle mainstream into three regions so the organization will be more flat and more agile,” he added, referring to TUI’s main package-holidays unit.

Sales rose 9.2 per cent to €3.41 billion, helped by currency effects.

The company reiterated a goal to lift underlying operating profit by 10 per cent to 15 per cent this fiscal year, with sales advancing by 2 per cent to 4 per cent, adjusted for currency swings.

Bloomberg