The TUI Group is experiencing very high demand for holiday travel. For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, the Group closed the 3rd financial quarter profitably. All segments showed a positive operating performance and contributed to the improvement in earnings. The growth sector Hotels & Resorts reported underlying earnings above pre-crisis levels for the fifth consecutive quarter. With continued strong bookings, the Group confirms its expectation of a significantly higher underlying EBIT for the full year 2023. This is the first quarterly report from the Group since the start of the pandemic that no longer includes government funding. The WSF aid was fully repaid in the reporting period. The banks' credit lines are currently undrawn. The Group significantly reduced net debt by 1.1 billion euros in the period under review, to 2.2 billion euros as of 30 June 2023.
TUI CEO Sebastian Ebel, presenting the quarterly figures in Hanover: "Summer 2023 is going very well and demand for holidays remains high. The Mediterranean remains the most sought-after destination for summer holidays. The heatwave in Northern Europe in June and the wildfires in Southern Europe have only dampened temporarily the previously strong development – but overall it will be a very good travel summer and a good year for TUI in 2023. For the full year we continue to expect a significant year-on-year increase in underlying EBIT. We are investing today to continue to significantly grow profitably in the future. We continue to drive TUI's transformation and strengthen our competitive position by investing in our profitable growth areas."
In the reporting period April to June 2023, TUI recorded high demand for holidays and good operating business with 5.5 million guests (previous year: 5.1 million). Consequently, the third financial quarter was closed profitably for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic with underlying EBIT of 169 million euros (previous year: -27 million euros). Revenue improved significantly by 900 million euros, or 19 percent, to 5.3 billion euros (previous year: 4.4 billion euros).
Due to the wildfires in Rhodes at the end of July, around 8,000 TUI guests in the south of the island had to leave their hotels. TUI took comprehensive care of the guests on site and also with additional return flights. For the customer it has once again been shown that the package tour booked with the tour operator offers great advantages and comprehensive service in extraordinary situations. The measures taken in Rhodes have a financial impact which will be reflected in the results for the full year. There will be costs for cancellations and lost business, customer compensation and repatriation flights - the Group expects these to be around 25 million euros. The destination Rhodes accounts for around 5 per cent of the TUI Group's summer programme, 80 per cent of TUI guests spend their holidays in the north of the island, which was not affected at any time by the wildfires. With the development of a broader and year-round range of products and services already underway, TUI will also cushion the impact of similar events to a greater extent in the future.
TUI continues to record strong bookings for the current travel summer at +6 per cent year-on-year, at encouraging price levels. Average prices are 7 per cent higher than last year. TUI currently has 12.5 million customers for the whole of Summer 23. Group-wide bookings are at 95 per cent of the level of pre-pandemic Summer 19. For the current Summer, 86 per cent of capacity has already been sold, which is in line with the previous year and also pre-pandemic year 19. The trend in TUI's core markets is as follows: For the British market, bookings are currently up by one per cent more customers, TUI Deutschland customer numbers are up by 11 per cent on last year's summer, and in the Netherlands customer numbers are five per cent higher. For Summer 23, TUI expects to be close to the booking level of Summer 19. The Group confirms its expectation of a significant improvement in underlying EBIT for the full year, compared to the previous financial year. TUI CEO Sebastian Ebel: "The travel summer of 2023 will be very good for TUI - with very good figures from our Hotels & Resorts and our cruise brands, strong growth in the activities segment and an overall strong booking performance from our tour operators. Our competitive position is very good. Where we see challenges - in the UK market and in the Nordic countries - we have taken actions to strengthen and grow our market position. In all segments we are clearly focused on growth."
The TUI Group is one of the world's leading tourism groups and operates worldwide. The Group is headquartered in Germany. TUI shares are listed in the MDAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in the regulated market of the Lower Saxony Stock Exchange in Hanover. TUI Group offers its 20 million customers integrated services from a single source and forms the entire tourism value chain under one roof. The Group owns over 400 hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson and 17 cruise ships, ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 in the luxury class and expedition ships in the HANSEATIC class to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and cruise ships operated by Marella Cruises in the UK. The Group also includes Europe's leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms, for example for hotel-only or flight-only offers, five airlines with more than 130 modern medium- and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies. In addition to expanding its core business with hotels and cruises via successful joint ventures and activities in vacation destinations, TUI is increasingly focusing on the expansion of digital platforms. The Group is transforming itself into a global tourism platform company.
Global responsibility for sustainable economic, environmental and social action is at the heart of our corporate culture. With projects in 25 countries, the TUI Care Foundation initiated by TUI focuses on the positive effects of tourism, on education and training and on strengthening environmental and social standards. In this way, it supports the development of vacation destinations. The globally active TUI Care Foundation initiates projects that create new opportunities for the next generation.