Holiday giant TUI has reported a strong start to its new financial year, with first quarter revenues surging 13%, and 18% jump in passengers and a return to pre-Covid booking levels.
For the period in question – the three months to the end of December – TUI generated revenues of €4.9bn and underlying earnings of €51m, up from just €6m for the corresponding period 12 months earlier.
TUI CEO Sebastian Ebel said: “The first quarter shows that we are on track for further growth in the full year. People prioritise their holidays even in times of change and economic risks. Our hotel and cruise businesses are growing continuously and are highly profitable. With the initiated transformation, we are strengthening the tour operator business in the core European markets. To become less dependent on Europe, we are focusing on new growth markets in Southeast Europe, Asia and Latin America.”
Mr Ebel added: “TUI is strategically well positioned. Thanks to our integrated business model, we create synergies between the two business areas Markets + Airline, with our tour operators and flight business, and Holiday Experiences, with our own Hotels, Cruises and TUI Musement.
“The roadmap is clear: We are accelerating our transformation and aiming for global growth. We set the course for that in the last financial year and will continue to deliver consistently in 2025. The first quarter shows: our strategy is paying off, operationally we are delivering. People prioritise their holidays even in times of change, and even in a challenging economic environment in Europe for almost all sectors. For ten quarters in a row, TUI has successfully aligned trends, strategy and operational performance.”
The German holiday giant now expects its full-year 2025 (the 12 months to the end of September) revenue to grow by 5%-10% and underlying earnings to grow by 7% to 10%.
“The promising performance in the first financial quarter of 2025, and thus the tenth consecutive quarter of earnings growth, will help us achieve our ambitious growth targets for the full year: we expect underlying EBIT to grow by 7-10 per cent. We have also reached another milestone in our financial profile: Fitch rating agency has given TUI a credit rating of BB with a stable outlook. This marks our return to pre-pandemic levels,” said Mathias Kiep, TUI Group CFO.
