TUI in restructuring mood
February 13, 2013Tourism giant TUI of Germany on Wednesday conceded that its losses widened in the first quarter of its current fiscal year, with the company operating its annual business from October to September.
The firm said it booked a net loss of 137 million euros ($184 million) in the three months to December 2012, compared with a loss of 87.6 million euros in the same quarter a year earlier.
It noted that 2011 earnings were boosted by one-off tax effects, making the latest Q1 losses appear in a slightly better light. Sales in the same period rose by 1.4 percent to 3.5 billion euros.
New broom sweeping clean?
"The outlook for the full year has been confirmed by the sound operating performance recorded by TUI Travel and Hotel & Resorts in the first quarter," the company said in a statement.
TUI CEO Designate Friedrich Joussen (in the picture) said the 74,000 employees had to brace for a thorough restructuring process in the months and years ahead. "Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be taking a close look at all our business segments," Joussen said in a statement.
"My patience ends where the performance of individual divisions just isn't good enough," he said, adding that the firm had to become leaner and more efficient. Joussen is taking over from outgoing CEO Michael Frenzel, who's headed TUI for 19 years and is one of Germany's most long-standing captains of industry.
hg/hc (dpa, AFP, Reuters)