(Alliance News) - Tui AG on Wednesday said it anticipates year-round holiday locations to remain attractive destinations for customers going into the winter period, amid a more optimistic outlook due to the removal of most Covid-19 restrictions.

However, the Hanover-based holiday operator noted a trend for short-term bookings that has continued into winter.

For the twelve months that ended September 30, Tui posted a pretax loss of EUR146 million, narrowed from a loss of EUR2.46 billion a year prior. Revenue multiplied to EUR16.55 billion from EUR4.73 billion after Covid-19 travel restrictions were lifted.

In the fourth quarter alone, Tui swung to a pretax profit of EUR887 million from a loss of EUR71 million a year ago. Revenue jumped to EUR7.61 billion from EUR3.37 billion.

Tui said it expects to operate its Winter 2022-23 programme at close to pre-pandemic levels. The winter programme is 54% sold, which means bookings are at 134% of last year and 84% of 2018-19 levels.

The Anglo-German company added: "We expect year-round destinations such as the Canaries, the Caribbean and Cape Verde to remain key winter destinations for both our markets & airlines and third-party customers, with our diversified and integrated model delivering clear advantages in the current environment."

Tui said it is closely monitoring the impact of the war in Ukraine and market uncertainties amid inflationary pressures on energy and exchange rate volatility.

Looking ahead, Tui noted a continuing "trend towards a higher share of short-term bookings" with "volumes overall close to Winter 2018/2019 in the last four weeks at minus 4%," hinting that customers are opting to book holidays or travels less in advance in the current inflationary and economic environment.

Significantly, Tui reduced its net debt as of September 30 to EUR3.44 billion from EUR4.95 billion a year before.

Tui shares were down 7.2% to 137.10 pence each on Wednesday morning in London, following the earnings update. The stock is down 37% over the past 12 months.

By Tom Budszus, Alliance News reporter

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