TUI results: holiday giant's annual earnings more than double to £836m as demand for travel soars

Holiday giant Tui has revealed that annual earnings more than doubled to £836.7m as demand for travel also rises with bookings up 11%. The airline saw record sales and rising prices which helped to boost its earnings and the group expects another 25% leap in operating profits over the year ahead.

It said underlying earnings soared 139% to 977.2 million euros (£836.7m) in the year to 30 September as revenues hit an all-time high of 20.7 billion euros (£17.7 billion) – “significantly” higher than before the pandemic. It posted pre-tax earnings of 551.2 million euros (£471.9 million) against losses of 145.9 million euros (£124.9 million) the previous year.

Tui said it expects underlying earnings to jump by at least a quarter over 2023-24, with sales set to increase by another 10% at least. Despite higher holiday prices and air fares expected in 2024, the group said bookings for the winter season were up 11% with average prices up 5%. It added that early indicators so far point to a strong summer season next year, with bookings up 13% and prices 4% higher.

The firm also warned that its guidance for the year ahead comes amid “current macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties, particularly in the Middle East” and that it has seen a temporary slowdown in bookings to Egypt due to the war between Hamas and Israel. It comes after its rival easyJet said last week that the Gaza conflict and threat to stability across the Middle East had affected bookings across the board in October and November. Despite this, easyJet’s profit surged to £455m with its first dividend paid to its shareholders since pandemic

Tui chief executive Sebastian Ebel said: “2023 was a good year for Tui. We have significantly strengthened our core business and have new growth areas.” He added: “The current winter bookings and the first indications for next summer lead us to expect a further improvement in 2024.”