TUI Hotels and Cruise Segments Drive Growth in 2018

© TUI GROUP

German travel and tourism giant TUI Group said on Thursday, that it had delivered double-digit earnings growth in 2018, for the fourth consecutive year, driven by the strong performance of its hotels and cruise products, which accounted for approximately 70 percent of its earnings.

The Hannover-based company said that underlying earnings before interest, taxes and amortization increased by 11 percent to 1.22 billion euros in fiscal 2018 (1 October 2017 – 30 September 2018), slightly ahead of guidance of a 10 percent EBITDA increase.

Meanwhile, turnover growth, TUI said, was up by 6.3 percent to 19.7 billion euros from 18.5 billion euros a year before, while turnover increased by 5.3 percent to 19.5 billion euros.

TUI’s Hotels & Resorts segment as well as its cruises delivered a strong performance in 2018.

TUI Group CEO Fritz Joussen. Photo Source: TUI Group

“Today, our own Holiday Experiences content account for more than 70 percent of our earnings: hotels, cruises, excursions and destination activities. This enables us to clearly differentiate ourselves from the competition,” said TUI CEO Fritz Joussen, adding that the company was aiming to “transform into a digital and platform organisation”.

The FTSE 100-listed company active in tour, hotel and resort and cruise services, said it is forecasting at least 10 percent underlying earnings growth in 2019, aiming to “mitigate the impact of a challenging environment” in its traditional tour operator business through further growth in its hotel and cruise segments, digitalization and efficiency initiatives.

In this direction, TUI Hotels & Resorts’ core brands opened a total of 16 new hotels in 2018, including hotels in Greece and Cyprus.