LONDON (Alliance News) - Thomas Cook Group PLC on Thursday reported a wider pretax loss in the third quarter of its financial year as revenue took a hit from terrorist attacks in Belgium and political turmoil in Turkey.
The travel operator said its pretax loss in the three months ended June 30 widened to GBP64 million from GBP44 million in the same period the year before, as revenue fell to GBP1.85 billion from GBP1.95 billion.
Thomas Cook said revenue took a hit from the political issues which have been plaguing Turkey of late as well as the terrorist attacks in Brussels in March in which suicide bombers targeted a major airport and one of the metro stations.
The issues in Turkey have also led to a 5% decline in summer bookings.
"We are operating in a challenging geopolitical environment, with repeated disruption in some of our key source and destination markets. In addition, while Brexit has had no noticeable impact on our bookings so far, it has added to a general sense of uncertainty - for our business and our customers alike," Chief Executive Peter Fankhauser said in a statement.
"Overall, our improving operations and significantly stronger balance sheet give us the flexibility to navigate through the current market conditions. I am confident that our focus on strengthening our holiday offering, transforming our customer service, and bringing our businesses closer together, is laying strong foundations for future growth," he added.
Shares in Thomas Cook were trading up 8.8% at 65.05 pence on Thursday morning.
By Karolina Kaminska; karolinakaminska@alliancenews.com @KarolinaAllNews
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