MyTravel slashes losses to £18m

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated: 04:07 EST, 15 December 2005

AIRTOURS and Going Places owner MyTravel cut its losses last year from £153m to £18.3m as it regained its financial stability and improved its operating performance.

The improvement came despite a £47.3m increase in the fuel bill during the period and the impact of the tsunami, American hurricanes and Egyptian terrorism.

North American holiday sales are down by about 5% following Hurricane Wilma's impact in Mexico, however. Also crucial to the losses in the year to 31 October was the fall in interest costs following its financial restructuring.

Early indications of summer 2006 bookings in the UK are 'encouraging'.

The company ran into trouble in 2002 after failing to anticipate a slump in demand following September 11 and a hole was found in its accounts.

It also launched an ill-fated television station, which lasted barely a year, and a low-cost airline from Birmingham.

It's future was secured in 2004 after it underwent a massive debt-for-equity swap to appease its lenders.

Today's results mark a further point on its road to recovery.

Chief executive Peter McHugh said: 'All in all it has been a good year for MyTravel, our turnaround is on course and the outlook for 2006 is positive.

'Across all divisions, our strong management team is making significant progress. Our emphasis continues to be on margin rather than volume and the flexibility we have achieved in recent years allows us to make appropriate adjustments where necessary.'