Shares of TUI, the German travel company, saw a surge in value after booking record quarterly revenue. Despite facing a vote on delisting from the London Stock Exchange, TUI’s shares rose by 3.2% at 0846 GMT, reaching 598 pence.
Earlier this year, TUI announced its intention to seek approval for delisting from London and making Frankfurt its primary exchange. The company plans to delist in London by June and transition to Frankfurt’s prime standard market by April 8, pending the approval of shareholders. The decision to review the benefits of a simplified listing structure came about due to requests from certain shareholders.
Several other companies have also left the London market recently. Irish building-materials supplier CRH relocated its main listing to New York, while Flutter Entertainment, which includes popular brands like FanDuel, PokerStars, and Paddy Power, began trading in New York with a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange’s main market. Arm Holdings, a British chip maker, also chose New York for its stock-market return.
TUI achieved positive underlying earnings before interest and taxes for the first quarter of fiscal 2024. The company’s customer numbers rose by 6% to 3.5 million, resulting in an 8% increase in year-on-year bookings for both the current winter season and summer season of 2024. The positive momentum continues for TUI as it enjoys robust customer demand.
Financial Highlights
The latest financial report from the company reveals notable improvements in its performance. Underlying EBIT stood at 6 million euros ($6.5 million), a significant shift from the previous year’s loss of EUR153 million. On a constant-currency basis, underlying EBIT reached EUR14 million, indicating a positive trend compared to the loss of EUR153 million.
Revenue Growth
The company experienced a surge in revenue for the quarter ended on December 31, amounting to EUR4.30 billion. This figure surpassed both the previous year’s revenue of EUR3.75 billion and the forecasted EUR4.14 billion, which was based on estimates from two analysts obtained via FactSet.
Net Loss Reduction
Aside from increased revenue, the company also managed to narrow its net loss. In the latest report, the net loss decreased to EUR122.6 million, showing notable progress compared to the previous year’s loss of EUR256.1 million.
Strong Booking Figures
TUI recorded an impressive total of 9.4 million combined bookings for the current winter season and summer 2024. This figure marks an improvement from the previous year’s 8.7 million bookings. Notably, the company observed a 4% increase in average prices for both the upcoming winter season and summer season. Moreover, demand for all key medium and short-haul destinations has shown a substantial rise compared to the previous year. Spain, Greece, and Turkey were identified as TUI’s most popular summer destinations.
Positive Outlook and Growth Expectations
The company reaffirmed its optimistic outlook, stating its expectation of at least 25% growth in underlying EBIT and a revenue increase of at least 10% for the current year. Chief Executive Sebastian Ebel emphasized that despite persistent challenges in the industry, people’s strong desire to travel continues to drive robust economic development across all areas of the group.