Thomas Cook (India) Limited announces results for Q1 FY21

Encouraging signs of recovery across lines of business since reopening

Mumbai, August 4, 2020: Thomas Cook (India) Limited (TCIL) India’s largest integrated travel services company, today announced its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. 

The Group witnessed the impact of the lockdown of domestic and international borders since March 2020 across its global network during the quarter. The company was therefore unable to undertake normal business activities, with consequential impact to its financial performance.

Highlights:

·       TCIL standalone reported a loss of Rs. 27 Mn. (after a non-cash gain of Rs. 212 Mn. on account of increase in the market value of shares of Quess Corp) Vs the EBT of Rs. 548 Mn. in the quarter ended June 2019

·       At a consolidated level, the loss stood at Rs. 1361 Mn. (after a non-cash gain of Rs. 212 Mn. on account of increase in the market value of shares of Quess Corp) Vs the EBT of Rs. 399 Mn. in the quarter ended June 2019

·       The fixed costs at a consolidated level reduced to Rs 2579 Mn. for the quarter as compared to Rs 4821 Mn. for Q1 FY20 (savings of Rs 2242 Mn. at 47%) The fixed costs at a standalone level stood at Rs. 729 Mn. for the quarter compared to Rs. 1443 Mn. for Q1 FY20 (savings of Rs. 714 Mn. at 49%)

·       The company continues to focus on cost reduction initiatives and reducing monthly cash burn rate. The cost savings resulting from these initiatives on a consolidated basis (excluding Sterling) are estimated at Rs. 5.6 Bn. for FY 2020-21, representing approximately 41% savings YoY. Of this Rs. 2.2 Bn. of savings has been realised in this quarter itself

·       Enhanced focus on cash conservation across the enterprise to maintain short-term liquidity & balance sheet strength given the uncertain environment. The Group’s cash and bank deposits are at Rs. 9177 Mn. as of June 30, 2020 and is adequate to deal with the commitments for the coming quarters

·       The Company is tracking favorably versus internal targets that were reset for the quarter in light of the pandemic in terms of financial performance, business recovery and on costs

·       The Foreign Exchange business, classified as an essential service, restarted operation on April 16^th, completing over 25000 transactions for the period since. The business registered a gross volume of Rs. 6.35 Bn. since with a revenue recovery of 29%. Trading volumes recovery is at 12% Vs pre pandemic volumes - across retail (recovery of 11%), corporate (recovery of 9%) and wholesale segments (recovery of 14%) while Revenue margin was at a healthy 3.2% Vs 1.3% during the same period last year

·       The Holidays business across Thomas Cook & SOTC reopened in phases post May 4th, tapping into the pent up travel demand, clocking bookings for over 1630 customers since reopening - with a focus on domestic and short haul outbound breaks. Holiday booking run rates for the upcoming festive season right through to Summer 2021 have been doubling week on week since June and both brands are seeing a healthy pipeline of enquiries

·       The Corporate Travel business that restarted in June after the resumption of domestic flights, has registered a revenue recovery of 12%. The business issued over 10000 tickets since reopening, handled the repatriation of around 10000 Canadian citizens in partnership with the Canadian High Commission and Vande Bharat flights & also managed charter flights for some clients. The business is witnessing an over 366% increase in transactions in July Vs May 2020, and a very encouraging forward pipeline

·       Thomas Cook India Limited signed an agreement to take over dnata Travel’s extensive Corporate Travel portfolio of 130 corporate houses in India on July 16^th, consolidating its leadership position in the space. The now enlarged client portfolio is expected to add approximately 20% to the Corporate Travel business topline of TCIL. The company remains bullish on the Corporate Travel opportunity and is focused on sustainable growth, enabled by cutting edge service-leadership

·       TCIL & SOTC have partnered with ICMR accredited medical centers pan India, becoming the first travel service providers in the country to offer seamless, end-to-end COVID-negative certification services. This is in extension to the Thomas Cook & SOTC Assured Safe Travel Program in partnership with Apollo Clinics, that ensures meticulous health and safety protocols at every stage of the customer journey

·       Accelerated deployment of end to end Digital solutions & processes completed across business lines to ensure seamless delivery of contactless, scalable, secure solutions to customers in line with the new normal