MyTravel basks in sunnier outlook

MYTRAVEL, the former Airtours group struggling to recover from near-collapse, today claimed it was turning the corner despite a £114.1m loss in the first half of the year.

The loss marked a huge improvement on the previous year's near-£200m red ink and covered a period that saw an £11.7m hit from the Indian Ocean tsunami and an £18m increase in its fuel bill, due to the high oil price.

As with all tour operators, MyTravel makes most of its money from summer sun bookings in the second half of the year, but chief executive Peter McHugh today reported that losses on its tours for last winter were reduced by 31%.

This summer, a drastic cut in capacity means it has 36% fewer holidays left to sell to British holidaymakers than at this time last year. That means far fewer lossmaking last-minute deals.

Much of the improvement in conditions this summer will be wiped out by the high oil price. The company expects jet fuel to cost it £30m more this year than last, but McHugh said overall results will still be in line with expectations for the year.

The £114.1m pre-tax loss in the six months to 30 April came from turnover of £1.12bn, down from £1.33bn due to capacity cuts in Brtain.

The group also announced the sale, for £38.5m, of its joint-venture share of two Mediterranean hotel businesses, Tenerife Sol and Hotetur.