TUI opts not to pay a dividend after its revenues slump amid tough conditions
TUI Group, the parent of Tui Travel, reported a 45 per cent fall in profits for the year to September despite a 14 per cent increase in operating earnings from tourism.
The company reported a group profit of €114m (£135m) down from €206m a year ago and chief executive Michael Frenzel said it would not pay a dividend in 2010 because of tough markets.
However, its underlying profit from operations rose by a quarter year-on-year to €589m.
TUI derives almost all its earnings from travel – about one-third of them from the UK – after moving into the sector in the 1990s from heavy industry and shipping.
The German group reported total revenue of €16.4bn, of which Tui Travel contributed €15.7bn and separate companies Tui Hotels & Resorts and Tui Cruises added €559m.
TUI reported earnings from Tui Travel up almost 11 per cent year-on-year, in line with the results of the London-based tourism company stated earlier this month.
The group is reported to be preparing to sell its stake in shipping company Hapag-Lloyd after rescuing the company from failure during the downturn of 2009. Hapag-Lloyd is all that remains of TUI’s former heavy-industry empire. The group was in the process of completing its divestment in 2008 when the world financial crisis struck.