“At least two new Casa Cook properties” will be among the new developments, which will open in addition to the 11 hotel launches planned for this summer.
In its half-year interim results, released this morning (Thursday), Cook reported revenues up 3% to £2,994 million, “reflecting strong winter demand to Spain and long-haul destinations”.
Seasonal underlying Ebit (earnings before interest and taxes) loss improved by £2 million to £177 million, and the seasonal loss for the period improved by £27 million to £272 million.
Net debt was reported at £794 million, a £34 million improvement “reflecting strong bookings for summer 2017”.
Elsewhere, online bookings were up 15% in the UK and 35% in Germany and sales of higher margin holidays to Cook’s own-brand hotels were up 10% for the summer.
The UK business "continued to improve its performance", achieving an underlying Ebit loss of £114 million compared to a £128 million loss in half one.
Peter Fankhauser, chief executive of Thomas Cook, said: "As we look ahead to the key summer season, we are seeing strong customer demand across most of our markets.
“Greece continues to be the standout destination for summer 17 while customers are also seeking out smaller European destinations like Cyprus and Bulgaria, as well as travelling further afield.
“In contrast, following strong growth last year, bookings to the Spanish islands have levelled off in a very competitive market.”
Cook said the UK business was managing through a more competitive market to the Spanish islands, "focusing on selling higher margin, quality holidays rather than pursuing volume growth".
"As a result, charter risk pricing is up 8%, while bookings are slightly behind last year," it said. "For the UK as a whole, including seat-only and non-risk package holidays, both bookings and average selling prices are up by 2%."
Fankhauser was also optimistic about the group’s airline business.
“Bookings are up significantly for the summer [for the airlines business], boosted by the addition of 15 new destinations to our flight programme, further expanding the choice and value we offer our customers.
“In our German airline, Condor, the actions we’ve taken after the market disruption of last year have started to come through, and we are confident that Condor will return to profit for the full year.
“Despite continued overcapacity in the airline market and strong competition particularly in our UK business, based on current trading we expect underlying Ebit for the full year to be in line with current market expectations.
“As I look across the group, I see real momentum behind our strategy for profitable growth.
“By putting a clear focus on giving customers the very best experience when they holiday with Thomas Cook, and making our operations more efficient, I am confident that we can continue to transform the business and deliver increased value to shareholders.”
