TUI sees summer travel demand to boost 2023 profits ‘significantly’

LONDON, May 9 (Reuters) – Travel company TUI ( TUI1n.DE ) said it expects strong revenue and higher profits for the full year 2023 on the back of strong bookings for the busy summer travel season.

Airlines such as Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ), EasyJet ( EZJ.L ) and Ryanair ( RYA.I ) all reported strong summer bookings, showing consumers are prioritizing travel spending amid high inflation and an uncertain economic outlook.

Bookings for winter jumped 13% compared to the same period last year and reached 96% bookings for winter 2019, the last summer before the Covid-19 restrictions came into effect. Average prices for summer trips are up 5% from last year.

In the January-March reporting period, the number of customers traveling with TUI increased to 2.4 million.

“Strong booking development and significantly improved quarterly figures highlight our expectations: a strong summer and a good financial year 2023 with significantly higher operating results,” CEO Sebastian Ebel in a statement.

The company fully repaid its state bailout earlier this year and reported a quarterly loss before interest and tax (EBT) of 242 million euros ($266.39 million), down 88 million from last year.

With fewer people traveling in the first three months of the year, TUI’s second financial quarter results are expected to be generally weak.

($1 = 0.9084 EUR)

Reporting by Joanna Plusinska, Editing by Louise Havens

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.