FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Holiday group TUI said on Wednesday it expects to become profitable again in 2022 with significantly positive underlying core earnings thanks to strong bookings as countries lift pandemic-related travel restrictions.
In the second quarter, TUI’s underlying loss before interest and taxes (EBIT) narrowed to 330 million euros ($347.95 million), almost halving the loss of 633 million euros it reported for the same period last year.
TUI also said it generated sales of 2.13 billion euros in the second quarter of its 2022 financial year starting in October – nine times as much as in the second quarter of 2021 – as people jumped to travel once it became possible again.
“The strong Easter business was the first indicator. The high demand for travel and good business performance confirm our forecasts. 2022 will be a good year with a strong travel summer,” Chief Executive Fritz Joussen said in a statement.
He added he expects TUI’s capacity to almost reach the pre-crisis level of 2019 this year.
($1 = 0.9484 euros)
(Reporting by Zuzanna Szymanska, editing by Kirsti Knolle)
