Last checked at 23 Sep 2019 07:00
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014
23 September 2019
On the Beach Group plc
("On the Beach", "OTB", the "Company" or the "Group")
Statement re: Thomas Cook Airlines Ltd
On the Beach Group plc, (LSE: OTB), the UK's leading online retailer for beach holidays, notes the recent announcements by Thomas Cook Group plc and the Civil Aviation Authority that Thomas Cook Airlines Ltd and other companies in Thomas Cook Group plc have entered compulsory liquidation. On the Beach is assisting customers that are currently in resort and whose travel plans will be affected.
The Board anticipates that there will be a one-off exceptional cost associated with helping customers to organise alternative travel arrangements, and lost margin on cancelled bookings. The Group expects to be able to recover the costs of the cancelled flights via chargeback claim (as was the case for the Monarch failure in 2017). This one-off exceptional will be booked in the current financial year. The Board is currently evaluating the potential effects of the failure on its forecasted performance for the year ending 30 September 2020, and a further update will be provided when appropriate.
The Group will announce a Full Year Trading Update on 22 October 2019 ahead of its Preliminary Results on 27 November 2019.
There will be a conference call for sell-side analysts at 8:30am today, the details of which can be obtained from FTI Consulting.
For further information:
On the Beach Group plc Simon Cooper, Chief Executive Officer Paul Meehan, Chief Financial Officer
| via FTI Consulting |
FTI Consulting Jonathon Brill Alex Beagley Fiona Walker Sam Macpherson
| Tel: +44 (0)20 3727 1000 |
About On the Beach
With over 20% share of online sales in the short haul beach holiday market, we are one of the UK's largest online beach holiday retailers. We have significant opportunities for growth and a long-term mission to become Europe's leading online retailer of beach holidays. By using our innovative technology, low-cost base and strong customer-value proposition to provide a structural challenge to legacy tour operators and online travel agents, we continue our journey to disrupt the online retail of beach holidays. Our model is customer-centric, asset light, profitable and cash generative.
Cautionary statement
This announcement may contain certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results, operations and businesses of the Company. Forward looking statements are sometimes, but not always, identified by their use of a date in the future or such words as 'anticipates', 'aims', 'due', 'will', 'could', 'may', 'should', 'expects', 'believes', 'intends', 'plans', 'targets', 'goal' or 'estimates'. These forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including factors outside the Company's control. The forward-looking statements reflect the knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this announcement and will not be updated during the year. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast.