Thomas Cook Q4 net loss at Rs 71 crore

Travel firm Thomas Cook (India) on Sunday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 70.8 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016.

It had posted a net profit of Rs 2.25 crore for the corresponding period of the previous financial year, the company said in a filing to BSE.

Consolidated total income stood at Rs 1,299 crore for the quarter under consideration as against Rs 865 crore in the year-ago period.

The consolidated profit before tax declined from Rs 170 crore during the 15-month period ended March 31, 2015 to Rs 28.5 crore during the year ended March 31, 2016 on account of exceptional one time provisions, including Rs 93.9 crore in Sterling Holidays, the company said.

This was primarily due to adoption of a more pragmatic and prudent approach towards vacation ownership receivables and write-off of capital work in progress, as also a Rs 7.3 crore receivable write-off in the inbound business, it added. Thomas Cook (India) Chairman and Managing Director Madhavan Menon said, “We are very bullish as Quess — after delivering yet another strong growth year, is gearing up for its IPO. We are very confident they will continue their track record of profitable performance as they scale up post the IPO process”.

“...on the back of a series of acquisitions made, we undertook a rigorous restructuring of our subsidiaries and business lines including taking some financially prudent decisions. These included taking a significant increase in provisions and some one-time write offs. These decisions will serve us well, as we set the platform for sustainable long-term growth,” he added.

Quess Corp saw gross revenue rising 34 per cent from Rs 2,567.1 crore during the 15-month period ended March 31, 2015 to Rs 3,435 crore for the 12-month period ended March 31, 2016.

Sterling Holidays reported a 25 per cent increase in operating income over 2014-15. It also expanded the number of operational rooms from 1,254 to 1,914 and also increased room occupancy to 57 per cent during the year.