Thomas Cook pares seasonal losses

Holiday operator Thomas Cook has posted an operating loss of £56 million for the three months to the end of December, down from £66 million a year earlier.

The company this morning said it had agreed to sell a flight distribution business for £45 million as part of its ongoing disposal programme.

The company also said that summer bookings were developing in line with its expectations. Bookings in the early months of the year for summer holidays generate the bulk of the firm’s earnings.

The world’s oldest travel group, whose history dates back 173-years, posted an underlying operating loss of £56 million in the three months to the end of December, a 15 per cent improvement on the corresponding year earlier period.

Thomas Cook said in a separate statement that it would sell Gold Medal, a distributor of scheduled flights, hotels and car hire, to a unit of the Emirates Group for £45 million.

Reuters