CRAWLEY (dpa-AFX) - Tour operator TUI Travel Plc (TT.L) Tuesday reported a wider pre-tax loss for the first quarter ended December 31, reflecting mainly lower demand for its North African destinations. In the first quarter, the company's loss before tax widened to 158 million pounds from 143 million pounds in the previous year. Meanwhile, loss attributable to equity holders narrowed to 103 million pounds from 106 million pounds in the previous year. The company said it has restated its prior-year results. Underlying operating loss widened to 109 million pounds from 86 million pounds a year earlier, mainly due to lower demand for North African destinations. In North Africa volumes declined 23 percent. Group revenue for the first quarter increased 5 percent to 2.85 billion pounds from 2.72 billion pounds reported last year. Organic revenue growth was 4 percent, driven by strong pricing across the Group and volume growth in the Accommodation & Destinations sector, or A&D. The company said its online bookings increased 19 percent for Winter and 16 percent for Summer 2012 in January. In the UK, Winter 2011/12 bookings improved, with volumes continuing to trend towards the capacity reduction of 9 percent. In A&D, bookings improved 16 percent. Peter Long, chief executive of the company stated, 'Our performance remains in line with our expectations and the flexibility of our business model means that we are able to manage capacity to match profitable demand. In addition, our business improvement programme is progressing according to plan.' TT.L is currently trading at 203.9 pence, down 2.6 pence or 1.26 percent, on a volume of 364 thousand shares on the LSE.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
