OLD-STYLE package holidays are bouncing back — as TUI reports a summer stampede to Spain, Greece and Turkey.
Europe’s largest travel operator says its revenue has climbed by almost a tenth to £5billion in the last three months as customers choose to go with travel bundles.
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Bookings are up by six per cent, despite Tui’s prices being three per cent higher, as Brits follow the lead of 1980s comedy series Duty Free starring Keith Barron and Gwen Taylor.
“Strong demand” has also been aided by the bankruptcy of German rival FTI, which Tui took advantage of by upping its listings for top destinations.
The firm has added 4.3million extra bookings since May to bring its total for the summer to 13.3million.
Tui has also avoided being hit by delays in plane deliveries, which has affected other holiday firms this year.
Passenger numbers are up by 5.5 per cent to 5.8million, boosting hotel and resort earnings by about 15 per cent.
Its cruises have done even better, reporting a 43 per cent earnings boost.
And its planes are now 94 per cent full, up one per cent from before.
Tui chief executive Sebastian Ebel said: “In a market environment that remains challenging, this demonstrates the strength and future viability of our business model.”
AJ Bell analyst Danni Hewson said Tui had “gone from strength to strength”, avoiding other airlines’ problems of being impacted by last-minute booking and price sensitivity.
Looking ahead, Tui hopes to see a similar success for the coming winter season — estimating its earnings this year will be up by at least 25 per cent.
BALFOUR REBOUND BY £16BN
BRITAIN’S biggest contractor Balfour Beatty shrugged off rumours it would be hit by the Chancellor’s money-saving plans — which affected its share price earlier this month.
The infrastructure giant has revealed a £16.6billion order book from UK energy, transport and defence industries and the US buildings business.
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Pre-tax profits rose a third to £112million in the past six months while turnover increased 3 per cent to £4.7bn.
Income from its UK construction arm fell 4 per cent to £1.45bn after lower volumes at nuclear project Hinkley Point C, where Balfour is building three tunnels to service the reactors.
Labour’s pledge to get Britain building again should boost Balfour.
But Panmure Liberum analysts warned: “The parlous state of government finances stands as a potential impediment.”
Balfour boss Leo Quinn predicted “further profitable growth in 2025 and beyond”.
FLUTTER’S BETS PAYING OFF BIG
SHARES in gambling giant Flutter, which owns Betfair and Paddy power, jumped nine per cent after a boost to business from Euro 2024.
Turnover leapt by a fifth to £2.8billion in the past three months while punter numbers on its sites climbed 17 per cent to 14.3million.
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More than 2.8million UK customers placed bets on the Euros with the firm.
The Dublin-based company, which also owns Pokerstars, said it had benefited from an “excellent performance” in the past quarter.
The US was a particularly bright spot, revenue stateside leaping 39 per cent to £1.17billion.
The firm switched its main stock market listing from London to Wall Street at the end of May to help grow its activities in the country.
Sports betting has taken off in the US since the practice was legalised by the Supreme Court in all states in 2018.
Flutter is the majority owner of the US Fanduel Group that offers gambling on sports such as golf, basketball, baseball and ice hockey.
Flutter boss Peter Jackson said: “The returns we’re seeing give us the confidence to continue driving customer acquisition.”
Analyst Susannah Streeter, of Hargreaves Lansdown, added: “Flutter’s bets on opportunities in the US market are paying off.”
153 AXED AT LEWIS
JOHN LEWIS is slashing one per cent of its workforce in a shake-up of its store teams.
The move will see 153 jobs disappear as the department store chain aims to improve customer service operations.
They said the shake-up — which includes a £5million splurge on digital headsets for workers — should increase the time staff can spend face to face with shoppers.
Sister business WAITROSE has had a similar staff overhaul.
PREMIUM WAND
HIGHER premiums have worked their magic at insurer AVIVA, helping profits to rise by 14 per cent to £875million in the past six months.
Premiums in car and home insurance rose 15 per cent to just above £6billion, while those for life and health cover grew 49 per cent following April’s takeover of AIG LIFE.
Aviva has been selling operations in Poland, Indonesia, France, Singapore, Vietnam, Turkey and Italy to focus on its core British, Irish and Canadian businesses. Shares are up 13 per cent this year.
THE Government is to splash out £13.5million to help supply chain firms and workers affected by job losses at TATA STEEL.
The switch to a greener form of steel production at Tata’s plant in Port Talbot, South Wales, means fewer staff will be needed.
HOUSES UP 2.7%
AVERAGE UK house prices climbed 2.7 per cent to £288,000 in the 12 months to June, official figures show.
The increase matched May’s figure, as the property market remained relatively buoyant.
The average price in England was £305,000, up 2.4 per cent.
In Wales it was £216,000 (up 1.8 per cent) and in Scotland £192,000 (up 4.5 per cent), the Office for National Statistics say.
In a blow to renters, private rents jumped 8.6 per cent on average in the year to July, the same increase as in June.