Thomas Cook share price: what to expect from its half-year results

When is Thomas Cook’s results date?

Thomas Cook will release it interim results on May 16.

Thomas Cook results preview: what does the City expect?

Thomas Cook has had a challenging start to the year, with the global travel company forced to close down a number of high street outlets and overhaul other parts of its business in an attempt to bring down its expenditure and focus on its core holiday operation.

Earlier this week, the company’s share price climbed more than 12% after news hit that Lufthansa had decided to bid for Thomas Cook’s Condor airline business.

At Lufthansa’s AGM, its CEO Carsten Spohr said that its bid for all of Condor airlines business, also included an option that would allow it to extend its bid to all Thomas Cook airlines.

If the sale goes through, it will help Thomas Cook reduce the amount of debt on its balance sheet, as well as invest more capital into its hotels and online holiday sales businesses, which is a major focus for the company this year.

The company is currently in advanced negotiations with its syndicate of banks to raise an additional £400 million in debt financing.

The additional financing will sit on top of more than £875 million in existing debt options sitting on the travel company’s balance sheet.

‘We have taken a number of prudent early steps to de-risk our business by taking out capacity in a challenging consumer environment,’ Thomas Cook CEO Peter Fankhauser said.

‘We have also taken the proactive step to approach our financing partners and are engaged in constructive discussions to ensure we have the flexibility and resources to continue investing behind our plans over the long-term.’

Investors are eager for an update on the company’s performance in its upcoming interim results, with shareholders hoping for a better performance this year after a heatwave in the UK led many customers to stay at home during the holiday season, impacting sales figures.

Thomas Cook named worst airline ahead of half-year results

After a weak start to the year, Thomas Cook was named the worst performing airline in the world in a recent survey conducted by air passenger rights organisation AirHelp, with rival easyJet coming one position above it in 71st place.

However, a spokesperson from Airlines UK, which represents UK airlines claimed that the report was ‘misleading’ and ‘self-serving’.

‘UK airlines operate in a highly competitive market place and need to provide good customer service to attract and keep passengers,’ the spokesperson said. ‘When things do go wrong most complaints are dealt with quickly and amicably without passengers having to fork out 25 per cent of any compensation to third parties.’