Thomas Cook released its financials for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025. The key highlights are:
- Consolidated Q1 FY25 PBT of Rs 1073 million* Vs Rs 914 million; 17% growth YoY
- Thomas Cook (Standalone) PBT growth of 29% YoY at Rs 740 million* Vs Rs 574 million
- Overseas destination management companies reflect turnaround with EBITDA at Rs 28 million Vs a loss of Rs (44) million in Q1 FY24
- The group continues to maintain a strong financial position, adding Rs 3.49 billion during the quarter, with cash & bank balances at Rs 18.67 billion as of June 30, 2024
- CRISIL upgrades Thomas Cook India’s Rating Outlook to ‘Positive’. Reaffirms company’s ratings at CRISIL AA-/Positive & CRISIL A1+
- The PAT for the quarter has been impacted on account of a higher tax liability
Total Income from Operations all Business segments in Q1 FY25
Travel Services
Leisure Travel:
- Growth in sales 21% YoY for Q1 FY25
- MICE: 20% Sales growth for Q1 FY25 (excluding one-time contracts in Q1 FY24)
- Corporate Travel transactions grew by 31% for Q1 FY25
- India DMS: 58% Sales growth YoY for Q1 FY25
- Overseas DMS: 26% Sales growth YoY for Q1 FY25
Forex:
- Launched EnterpriseFX card—India’s first eco-friendly prepaid corporate card
- Retail growth led by overseas education at 21% YoY; holiday forex at 10% YoY for Q1 FY25
- Card loads increased 13% YoY
Hospitality (Sterling Holidays):
- Growth in sales: 9% YoY for Q1 FY25
- Occupancy at 69% for Q1 FY25
- New resorts launched in Q1: Udaipur (3rd in Udaipur; 6th in Rajasthan) and Dehradun (6th in Uttarakhand)
- Sterling continues to be debt-free company; with a strong cash position of over Rs 2000 million
- The PAT for the quarter has been impacted on account of a higher tax liability
Digital Imaging Solutions (DEI):
- Q1 FY25: 13 new partnerships signed (UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia, Maldives, India, Bahrain, Macau)
- Renewal of eight key partnerships in Maldives, Indonesia, Thailand, UAE and Egypt
- Operational launch of 10 partnerships in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Indonesia and India
Madhavan Menon, Executive Chairman of Thomas Cook (India) Limited, said, “Thomas Cook India has delivered a good all-round performance for Q1 FY25, reporting a consolidated PBT of Rs 1073 million (excluding non-operating MTM gains) that reflects a healthy 17% growth over Q1 FY24.
This has been a result of solid performance across our businesses, despite multiple headwinds during the period, including the Indian general elections that delayed travel plans and heatwaves across most of the country.
Our forward booking funnel indicates that we may have the benefits of an extended holiday season and are well poised to deliver sustainable growth in the quarters ahead.”
Business Segment-wise Performance:
Expansion of both digital and physical distribution:
- Retail: Seven new outlets for the quarter, including tier 2 and tier 3 source markets
- A range of digital initiatives include video KYC-enabled bookings (700 forex bookings since launch in May); TC Pay – a digital money transfer service; Forex services via WhatsApp: 2000 interactions daily; 140 forex sales bookings for the quarter
Hospitality (Sterling Holidays):
- Highest ever Q1 revenues of Rs 1,257 million despite headwinds of elections impacting April, heatwaves in some locations and fewer wedding dates this quarter
- Records a healthy margin with EBIDTA of 34% in line with past industry averages
- Continues its growth momentum with its portfolio now comprising 50 resorts, hotels, and retreats
- Current network: 2803 rooms as of Q1 FY25
- Occupancy in Q1 FY25 at 69%
- F&B spends grew by 6% YoY in Q1 FY25
- Guest Ratio: Q1 FY25 improved at 69% Vs 66% in the previous year
- ARR at Rs 7,100
- Sterling remains debt-free with a strong cash position of over Rs 2000 million
- Customer Satisfaction: based on TripAdvisor ratings, 19 Resorts ranked No. 1 in their location; overall 65% of Resorts in the top 5
Travel Services
- Corporate Travel
- Acquisition of new accounts across sectors like manufacturing, pharma, airport operations, IT& ITES; retention of key global accounts
- Over 49% adoption on the corporate self-booking tool
- Non-Air business has grown YoY by 38.3%
- Productivity efficiency has increased YoY by 16% for Q1 FY25 Vs Q1 FY24
- Air ticketing from US ARC (US office corporate travel ticketing) is witnessing growth
- Implementation of NDC (New Distribution Capability) on GDS (Global Distribution System) and booking platforms, ensuring visibility of all fare levels to corporates and consultants
- Meetings-Incentives-Conferences-Exhibitions (MICE)
- Q1 FY25: Managed over 50 groups, ranging from 5–1500 delegates per group to Switzerland, Canada, France, Hungary, UK, New Zealand, UAE, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Türkiye (International); Chandigarh, Goa, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Punjab (Domestic)
- Leisure Travel
- Thomas Cook India and SOTC successfully operated exclusive charter flights to Bhutan from Bengaluru
- Thomas Cook India and SOTC partnered with the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board to launch exclusive aerial darshans to Adi Kailash and Om Parvat (Dev Bhoomi)
Destination Management Services (DMS) Network
India DMS – Travel Corporation (India) Limited: Reported significant growth of 58% YoY for Q1 FY25
Overseas DMS: Grew by 26% YoY for Q1 FY25
- Middle East – Desert Adventures: Business reported a steady YoY performance. The MICE segment performed extremely well. The slowdown for Oman and Jordan impacted overall numbers
- USA – Allied TPro: Registered strong volume growth in Q1 FY25 as compared to the previous year, driven by an uptick in volumes across Group and Individual traveller segments
- South Africa – Private Safaris: Q1 FY25 witnessed the impact of reduced demand for the region, a trend prevalent in the industry and also triggered by the local elections. The focus remained on cost management
- East Africa – Private Safaris: Q1 FY25 YoY sales remained stable. Steady volumes were driven by key markets such as USA, Germany, UK, France, India and Romania
- Asia Pacific – Asian Trails: YoY improvement in performance led by growth in key markets of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore
Digital Imaging Solutions (DEI):
Q1 FY25:
- Eight partnerships renewed in Maldives, Indonesia, Thailand, UAE, and Egypt
- 13 new partnerships signed in UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia, Maldives, India, Bahrain, and Macau
- 10 partnerships operationally launched in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Indonesia, and India
Other Key Business Updates
- Focus on Digitalization
The Group’s Digital First strategy saw sustained momentum
- NDC (New Distribution Capability) integration: Ensuring visibility of all fare levels across a range of international airlines
- Launched TC Edge & SOTC Holiday Rewards: Loyalty programme with an easy interface for online earning and redemption of points for bookings of flights, hotels and holidays
- Thomas Cook India has teamed up with major educational institutions and counsellors, including SP Jain University and Uni Scholar, to deliver complete forex services. These services offer end-to-end digital solutions for study and university fee remittances through partner digital platforms
India Network Expansion
- Leisure Travel: Thomas Cook and SOTC Travel franchise outlets were opened in Pune, Mumbai & Jaipur; Mumbai, Vijayawada, Jodhpur, and Kolkata
- Foreign Exchange: opened franchise outlets in Bhuj, Lucknow, Faridabad, Delhi, Bengaluru, Jaipur, and Kolkata
Awards and Partnerships
- Thomas Cook India wins ‘MICE Travel Agency (Outbound) Award’ at Economic Times MICE & Wedding Tourism Awards 2024
- Thomas Cook India honoured with the ‘Masters of Risk – Travel & Hospitality’ at India Risk Management Awards 2024
