Thomas Cook Regulatory News (TCG)

17 May 2018

Results for the six months ended 31 March 2018

Improved results with tangible strategic progress

The comments below are based on like-for-like comparisons unless otherwise stated, as Management believes this provides a clearer view of the Group's underlying year-on-year progression

Strong customer demand delivers improved results

· Revenue up 5% to £3,227 million, driven by growth to Egypt and long-haul destinations

· Gross margin broadly in line, with strong airline performance largely offsetting UK margin pressure

· Seasonal underlying EBIT loss improved by £13 million reflecting strong airline performance

· Loss before tax improved by £16 million, helped by an £8 million reduction in net finance charges

· Net debt improved by £94 million to £886 million

Customer innovations driving sustainable growth

· Increased focus on NPS attracting new and repeat customers: up 12% and 6% respectively

· Launched £150-million hotel fund with five seed assets and three projects in development

· Extending reach: 10-15 Cook's Clubs for Summer 2019 to bring affordable design to the mass market

· Meeting demand for personalisation: 13,500 Choose Your Room bookings, 50% of available sunbeds booked

· Growing airline by 10% with 70 new routes, including 3 long-haul routes for Summer 2018

· Partnerships on track: Webjet bookings up 5x; Expedia launches in July for UK and Belgium

Well positioned for 2018

· Strong demand for Summer 2018 in all segments with bookings up 13%

· Significant growth to Turkey and North Africa helping to mitigate UK margin pressure

· On track to deliver full year underlying EBIT in line with expectations on a constant currency basis

Peter Fankhauser, Chief Executive of Thomas Cook, commented:

"Thomas Cook has had a good first six months of the year, delivering improved financial results combined with tangible strategic progress. The work we've done in the past two years to improve customers' experience of our flights and our holidays is bearing fruit with revenue growth of 5 per cent, and a positive booking position for the summer.

"The improvements in customer satisfaction have come from our focus on fewer, better hotels and our holiday programme for Summer 2018 is in great shape. Two-thirds of our customers tell us they want to personalise their holidays and we are innovating to satisfy this demand. This includes the successful introduction of 'Choose Your Room' across 300 hotels for the summer and, more recently, 'Choose Your Favourite Sunbed' which we are rolling out to 50 hotels.

"Customer demand for this summer is good in all our markets, particularly in our Nordic region. We continue to experience margin pressure in the UK tour operator due to a combination of hotel cost inflation in Spain, currency impact and capacity increases in the market. We have taken action to help mitigate this pressure, including taking out holiday capacity from Spain and moving it to the Eastern Mediterranean.

"Our Group Airline performed particularly well in the first half. Condor delivered a strong turnaround, and has benefitted from our ability to provide a reliable and high-quality service during a period of disruption and consolidation in the German aviation sector. Our booking position for the summer is strong, and bookings are well in line with our capacity growth of 10 per cent to an expanded range of destinations, including 70 new routes across the group.

"The launch of our hotel investment fund with LMEY in March will allow us to accelerate the growth of our own-brand hotel portfolio where we can deliver better quality and higher returns. With three new hotel projects underway in as many months, in addition to our first Casa Cook in Spain, we're excited about the opportunity the fund provides. We also have high hopes for our new hotel brand, Cook's Club, which we plan to roll out at scale for Summer 2019 to attract a new generation of design-conscious holidaymakers to Thomas Cook at great value prices.

"In addition, our new partnerships in our complementary business are beginning to kick in: the transfer to Webjet has delivered a five-fold growth in bookings on last year, helping fuel a 51-per cent increase in overall bedbank bookings, in line with our strategy to increase automation in this part of our business. Meanwhile, we expect to launch Expedia in Belgium and the UK this summer, paving the way for further improvements in the online customer experience.

"As we enter our busiest period, I see positive momentum across all of our markets to deliver the best possible holidays for our customers. Our continued progress on strategy to transform the business, together with the clear desire among customers for our modern, personalised package holidays and flights, mean we are on track to deliver a performance in line with current expectations for the full year, on a constant currency basis."

Analyst and Investor Presentation

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Forthcoming announcement date

The Group intends to announce its results for the third quarter ended 30 June 2018 on Tuesday 31 July 2018.

Enquiries

CURRENT TRADING AND OUTLOOK

Winter 2017/18

Our winter programme closed out in line with our expectations. Overall Group bookings increased by 10%, with strong demand for the Canaries, Egypt and Turkey. Average selling prices were broadly flat, reflecting a shift in the mix from long-haul to short/medium-haul destinations.

Summer 2018

Our Summer 2018 programme is 59% sold. Bookings for the Group are up 13% compared with this time last year, with particularly strong demand for Turkey, Greece and Egypt as customers are attracted by our expanded range of high-quality hotels and increased flight capacity. We're also seeing a growth in bookings to smaller destinations such as Croatia and Italy, as well as Tunisia which has made a positive start after we reopened it to the UK market in February.

Bookings to the Spanish Islands from our Group Tour Operator are lower than last year following our decision to reduce capacity for the summer.

Northern Europe is growing well, with bookings up 7% and average selling price up 5%, driven by strong demand for own-brand hotels and differentiated holidays to Greece, Turkey and Cyprus.

Continental Europe bookings are up 2%, with good growth in Germany (+4%), France (+15%) and Belgium (+8%). Excluding our legacy city and domestic hotel-only business, which we plan to transform as we move over to Expedia, Continental Europe bookings are up 4%.

UK tour operator bookings are up 4%, with pricing up 6%. We continue to experience margin pressure as a result of currency impact and hotel bed cost inflation in a competitive market environment. Strong growth to higher-margin destinations in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as higher web and ancillary sales, are helping to mitigate this impact.

Our Group Airline continues to attract more customers for its high-quality and reliable service, particularly in Germany where we are benefitting from the turnaround of Condor. Bookings are up 18%, with good demand across all of our key destinations. Average selling prices are up 2% reflecting a shift in demand from long-haul to short/medium-haul destinations.

Based on cumulative bookings to 5 May 2018

Notes: (i) Risk and non-risk customers

(ii) Risk customers only

(iii) Group Airline figures include intercompany sales to the Group Tour Operator

(iv) Continental Europe excluding legacy city and domestic hotel-only business bookings up 4% and ASP up 3%

Outlook

Trading for the Group overall is progressing in line with expectations. Our Group Airline continues to benefit from the turnaround in Condor and good demand for its flights in a stronger market environment, although it will face a tougher comparative in the second half of the year. We expect an improved performance from our Group Tour Operator business in the summer, driven by Continental Europe and Northern Europe, which will help to offset continued UK margin pressure in holidays to Spain.

Our strategic initiatives are leading to more demand for our holidays, which, combined with our drive for operational efficiency, is improving profitability. We expect these continuing improvements will lead to further profitable growth in FY18, consistent with the underlying expectations set at our full year results last November, on a constant currency basis1.

1. See page 17 for the implied foreign exchange translation impact at current FX rates

OUR STRATEGY FOR PROFITABLE GROWTH

Customer Care

The care and reassurance we provide to customers is one of the key means by which we can differentiate our flights and holiday offer. We track our progress at every step of the customer journey by measuring Net Promoter Score (NPS), our primary indicator of customer satisfaction, and we see a clear link between the two. Since FY15, NPS across the Group has grown by 9 points. This NPS focus has led new customers to increase by 12 per cent in the first half, while repeat customers were up 6 per cent.

We have now implemented our popular 24-Hour Hotel Satisfaction Promise across all of our differentiated hotels, giving all customers staying in our core portfolio of hotels a commitment that we will resolve any issues within 24 hours of their arrival at the hotel.

In order to better monitor and improve customer satisfaction, we are implementing InMoment, an artificial intelligence-powered, live customer feedback measurement tool across the Group. By better understanding, in real time, the impact that each element of our service, flights and hotels has on overall NPS, we can intervene more effectively where required and ultimately improve our customers' experience of Thomas Cook.

We have further improved the ratio of complaints resolved in destination (rather than after the holiday) by 3 percentage points year-on-year, showing progress across all markets. By resolving issues while in destination, we can make sure more of our customers enjoy their holidays and go home happy, improving NPS and freeing up our source market contact centres to respond more quickly to customers.

Customer Contact

We have built on the strong growth in digital sales we achieved last year. On a booked basis, we have grown online revenue by 18% across the Group, with particular progress in the UK which is up 33% year on year.

The investments in our websites have continued to increase visits - up 5% across the group - and conversion, particularly on mobile, which is up 23%. Overall, mobile bookings have grown by 55%, showing improvement across all of our markets.

We closed a further 63 stores in the UK in H1, leaving us with around 600 stores as customers continue the shift online. We have also accelerated the rebranding of our shops, as we move to a single high-street brand following the end of our joint venture with The Cooperative Travel.

We continue to take steps to grow the levels of controlled distribution in Germany, targeting new franchise stores and strategic partner channels. To help us increase margins and improve the customer experience, we will continue to seek further opportunities to strengthen our direct contact with customers in the German market.

Holidays

Own-brand Hotels and Resorts

We have made good strategic progress in our own-brand hotels and resorts business so far this year. We launched our hotel fund joint venture with Swiss investment company LMEY in March with five seed assets valued at £150 million. This will allow us to accelerate the development of our own-brand portfolio and capture a greater share of revenues. The fund will focus on Mediterranean destinations, particularly Spain and Greece, and has already agreed to invest in a further three properties - each to be redeveloped in the next 18 months into one of our own-branded hotels.

In April, we launched a new hotel concept, Cook's Club. Building on the success of our Casa Cook boutique hotel brand, Cook's Club will bring a design-led, modern aesthetic to the beach at a price that will appeal to a mass market. We are aiming to roll out the brand at scale for Summer 2019, targeting 10-15 hotels with 200-400 rooms each.

Our third Casa Cook hotel, our first dedicated to families, is due to open in Crete this summer. This will be followed in 2019 by our first long-haul Casa Cook in Mauritius, and the first in Spain, our biggest destination, on Ibiza. In total we will open 19 new own-brand hotels this year, while removing 19 hotels from our portfolio that do not meet the high standards we set.

Sales to own-brand hotels for Summer 2018 are up 27%, with strong growth across all of our segments as we better focus our sales and marketing channels into our own-brand hotels.

Differentiated holidays

We are making good progress in streamlining our portfolio of selected partner hotels, as we aim to strengthen relationships with hotel partners to improve our customers' experience on holiday and increase hotel occupancy rates. As planned, this summer we are offering 3,170 own-brand and partner hotels - a reduction of around 10% compared with last year. Sales to differentiated holidays for Summer 2018 are up 16%, demonstrating clear progress on our strategy to grow sales of holidays to a smaller core portfolio which consists of higher-quality hotels. Meanwhile, we have also increased the number of hotel room guarantees we have agreed with hoteliers as we seek to increase our influence over the hotels we offer.

We also intend to discontinue the UK market's Club 18-30 holiday brand after Summer 2018 as a result of the continued strategic review of our differentiated holiday offer in the UK.

Airline

We have made great progress in our airline, both from an operational perspective, and in the strategic development of one Group Airline to improve efficiencies and deliver better customer value. Our turnaround plan has delivered what we promised and we see good growth across the Group Airline.

The Group Airline has increased its capacity for Summer 2018 by 10 per cent, following the acquisition of Air Berlin assets and the launch of a new Palma-based airline, Thomas Cook Airlines Balearics. These new platforms for growth support the addition of 10 aircraft, consistent with our plans to grow capacity to meet increased customer demand in our key markets of Germany and the UK.

This growth has come predominantly in short/medium-haul flights, where we have grown summer bookings 21% year on year, reflecting further progress in our strategy to strengthen our position in the European leisure flights market.

We have reached an agreement with Canadian airline Air Transat to deepen the relationship we formed last year involving a seasonal exchange of aircraft which takes advantage of the different peak operational periods of the two companies. The new agreement will see 14 aircraft exchanged in the winter, further improving the choice of long-haul flights we offer and better balancing the seasonal demand for short/medium-haul flights.

Services

We increased the sales of personalised holiday services from our Group Tour Operator by 6% in the first half, reflecting our continued work to give our customers more flexibility in the way they holiday with us. Improvements to our websites and the customer booking journey have allowed us to increase revenue from sales of these services, including good growth in our pre-order on-board duty-free retail offer, Airshoppen.

We have made particularly strong progress in the UK as we shift online, generating an additional £10 per customer in sales of personalised holiday services. We have also begun to implement a yield pricing strategy on these products, allowing customers to take advantage where there is reduced demand, and for us to improve sales across the year.

Initiatives such as 'Choose Your Room' and 'Choose Your Favourite Sunbed', which we are rolling out for the first time this summer, have been very well received by customers. As we develop our "My Holiday" companion app and launch a Group Airline app, we expect to further enhance our reach to customers for sales of these personalised flight and holiday services.

Thomas Cook Money

Thomas Cook Money has started well. We have had a good response to Lyk, our pre-paid travel money card, which we launched into UK retail in March as a replacement for our Cash Passport. We are well on track to build a tech-led financial services business which can capitalise on our large existing customer base, as well as target new customers.

Partnerships

Complementary hotel partnerships

Our strategic hotel sourcing partnership with Webjet, announced in August 2016, has delivered a five-fold growth in bookings and contributed to a 51-per-cent increase in overall bedbank bookings, as we outsource the contracting of the sun and beach hotels which do not form part of our core portfolio of hotels.

As anticipated, we have seen a continued decline in sales from our legacy city and domestic hotel-only business. However, this summer, our alliance with Expedia will begin to take bookings for city and domestic hotels in the UK and Belgium, as part of the transformation of our complementary hotel sourcing.

We anticipate this will drive growth through greater choice of hotels for our customers and a better online journey, as well as through sales of a selection of our own differentiated product through Expedia's distribution channels. The alliance will also allow us to further simplify our processes and achieve greater cost efficiencies across the group.

China

Thomas Cook China is on track to grow customers tenfold in 2018. Our joint venture with Fosun is profiting from a continuing shift in bookings to more outbound travel from China, reflecting the growing appetite for Chinese consumers to travel the world. The venture has continued to expand its destinations to meet this increasing demand with seven new destinations for our bespoke itinerary 'Tours' product. The ambition remains for our Chinese business, over time, to become a sizable source market for the Group, comparable in size with our key source markets in Europe.

New Operating Model benefits

The New Operating Model is our Group-wide transformation programme through which we manage, and measure the financial benefits from, a number of business change initiatives aimed at implementing our strategy for profitable growth. In the first half, this programme delivered annualised net EBIT benefits of £15 million, mainly from growing sales of holidays to higher-margin differentiated hotels, higher ancillaries sales and other overhead savings. This takes the cumulative annualised net EBIT benefits delivered since the programme began to £85 million. We remain on track to deliver a total of £160 million to £180 million of cumulative annualised net EBIT benefits by FY20.

Financing progress and dividends

We achieved significant progress in our financing strategy in the first half. We issued a new €400 million bond with a coupon of 3.875%, maturing on 15 July 2023. This coupon is significantly lower than the 6.75% €400 million June 2021 bond it replaced, helping us to achieve lower interest costs, while extending maturities and liquidity.

Standard & Poor's upgraded our credit rating to B+, bringing them in line with Fitch and Moody's. This reflects our progress in delivering on our strategy, as well as improving the risk profile of our business.

We expect to make a dividend payment at the full year. Our policy is to target dividend growth that reflects the Group's progress in underlying earnings per share. As previously stated, in view of the seasonality of the Group's profit profile, it is not our intention to pay interim dividends for the foreseeable future.

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW

Overview

The comments below are based on underlying like-for-like comparisons unless otherwise stated, as Management believes this provides a clearer view of the Group's year-on-year progression

The Group made good financial progress in H1 2018, reporting higher revenues, higher gross profit, improved underlying EBIT and lower net debt, compared to last year. Group revenue increased by 8% (£233 million) on a headline basis (before adjusting for the positive benefits of foreign exchange translation differences), and by 5% (£165 million) on a like-for-like basis, as demand grew for our holidays to North Africa and long-haul destinations.

Supported by our strong revenue growth, gross profit increased by £30 million, while gross margin reduced by 20 basis points. Margin improved in our airline due to higher yields in short/medium-haul and the turnaround in Condor, although this was offset by margin pressures in our UK Tour Operator, particularly to the Spanish islands.

The Group's underlying seasonal EBIT loss improved by £13 million to £169 million. This includes a £7 million benefit (H1 2017: £5 million benefit) in the Group Airline, as a result of the reassessment of maintenance provisions.

The Group's loss from operations increased by £4 million to £214 million, due to higher EBIT Separately Disclosed Items as transformation activity accelerates.

Underlying net finance interest charges by £8 million to £66 million. In addition, separately disclosed finance charges decreased by £13 million to £22 million due to reduced costs associated with our bond refinancing in December 2017 compared with the refinancing costs we incurred in December 2016. As a result, the Group's loss before tax improved by £16 million to £303 million. The tax credit for the first half was £48 million, resulting in a loss for the period of £255 million, an improvement of £22 million compared to the prior year.

Free cash flow for the period was a seasonal outflow of £718 million, £69 million higher than last year, primarily reflecting the timing of aircraft maintenance events for our operating lease aircraft.

Group net debt at the end of the period was £886 million, £92 million lower compared to a year ago. Adjusting for non-cash and non-recurring items, net debt improved by £94 million on a like-for-like basis, reflecting the improved working capital movements due to stronger summer bookings.

Like-for-like Analysis

Certain items, such as the normal translational effect of foreign exchange movements, affect the comparability of the underlying performance between financial years. To assist in understanding the impact of those factors, and to better present underlying year-on-year changes, 'like-for-like' comparisons with H1 2017 are presented in addition to the change in reported numbers.

The 'like-for-like' adjustments to the Group's H1 2017 results and the resulting year-on-year movements are as follows:

Performance by business line

Since our FY17 results announcement in November 2017, the Group has reported the operations of its Group Tour Operator and Group Airline businesses as its primary reporting segmentation. This segmentation was previously given as supplementary information. Further description of this change in segmental reporting can be found in our FY17 results statement.

Revenue

Group revenue increased by £165 million (5%) to £3,227 million, as we expanded our programme to meet growing customer demand. Increased winter demand to Egypt and Tunisia resulted in higher revenue from holidays and flights to North Africa, while we also continued to expand our long-haul programme. Revenues in the first half of the year also benefited from strong demand to Greece, Spain and Turkey in the late Summer 17 season. The main components of the changes by destination are as follows:

Underlying Gross Profit and Margin

Gross profit increased by £30 million to £672 million, supported by strong revenue growth. Gross margin of 20.8% is down 20 basis points compared to last year, mainly reflecting the continuing impact of bed cost inflation on holidays to Spain, particularly in our UK tour operator business. Our Group Airline gross margin improved due to the successful turnaround of Condor, together with improved yields from short/medium-haul flying in the winter compared to last year. The impact on the Group's gross margin performance by segment is set out below.

Underlying Operating Expenses / Overheads

Operating expenses before depreciation increased by 2% (£15 million) to £727 million as the benefits of efficiency initiatives were offset by inflation and volume-related increases to our operating cost base. Depreciation increased by £2 million to £114 million, reflecting investment in our aircraft fleet and IT enhancements.

Underlying EBIT

The Group reported a seasonal underlying EBIT loss of £169 million for the period, a £13 million (7%) improvement compared to last year on a like-for-like basis. The principal components of the Group's EBIT performance for the year are summarised below under "Segmental review".

EBIT

Statutory EBIT loss for the period of £214 million is £4 million higher than last year on a like-for-like basis, as an improved underlying EBIT result has been offset by an increase in separately disclosed items.

SEGMENTAL REVIEW

Performance by business line

During the period Group underlying EBIT improved by £13 million on a like-for-like basis, analysed as follows: 

(i) Negative revenue and customers reported in Corporate is a result of inter-segment eliminations

A review of the performance of each of our business units is set out below:

Group Tour Operator

Revenues increased in all of our core markets in the first half, leading to an overall increase in Group Tour Operator revenues of £91 million (or 4%) to £2,386 million (H1 2017: £2,295 million). Demand for our holidays remained strong across all of our businesses, especially for our differentiated holidays to own-brand and selected partner hotels, where sales grew by 8 per cent overall. Margins in most of our core source markets have been maintained or improved, apart from the UK where a continuation of challenging market conditions has caused the Group Tour Operator gross margin to decline by 100 basis points to 14.2% (H1 2017: 15.2%).

The seasonal Underlying EBIT loss of £85 million is £4 million better than last year, as our Northern Europe business further strengthened its market-leading position, mitigating the margin pressures being experienced in our UK business.

The Revenue and underlying EBIT for our Group Tour Operator, split by source market, is set out below.

Northern Europe

Our Northern Europe tour operating business performed very well in the first half, achieving significant revenue growth and a £9 million increase in underlying EBIT to £41 million (H1 2017: £32 million). Demand was good for both our classic and dynamic packages, leading to less discounting later in the sales cycle. We have continued to build on our strong product position in Northern Europe, and this has resulted in sales of holidays to our own-brand hotels growing by 6% in the first half, while sales of holidays to our selected partner hotels grew by 18%.

Continental Europe

Our tour operating business in Continental Europe achieved a good result overall, reducing its seasonal underlying EBIT loss by £3 million to £49 million in the first half (H1 2017: £52 million loss). Demand for most destinations has been robust, with growth to Egypt, Greece and Tunisia helping to offset declines to Mexico and the Caribbean following Hurricane Irma last autumn. Sales to own-brand hotels increased by 10% in the first half, while sales to selected partner hotels were maintained at last year's levels.

Belgium performed particularly well following the transfer of our Belgian airline business to SN Brussels in November, leading to a reduction in seasonal losses from winter flying. France and Russia also improved their financial results, with France benefitting from strong growth in demand especially to North African destinations, together with the effect of significant cost-cutting initiatives over recent years. Despite growing revenues, our German business saw its seasonal underlying loss increase in the first half, due to weaker margins to long-haul destinations (partly due to a disadvantageous hedging position for the US Dollar) and strong market competition, especially to Egypt. Our Eastern European businesses and our Dutch business achieved a similar first-half result to last year.

UK

While our UK tour operating business grew sales in the first half of the year, with good levels of demand especially for Turkey and Egypt, as we highlighted at recent results announcements, margins continued to come under pressure particularly in the second quarter. This resulted in a seasonal underlying EBIT loss of £77 million, which is £8 million higher than last year (H1 2017: £69 million loss). The business was principally impacted by softer margins to the Canaries, our largest winter destination, caused by strong hotel cost inflation, together with a weaker Sterling and increased levels of market competition. As a consequence, while customer demand remains strong, our UK business has not fully passed on these significant inflationary cost increases through higher selling prices.

In this environment, we are implementing a set of actions, in order to help mitigate these market pressures. We have continued to rebalance our destination mix towards more profitable, fast-growing destinations such as Turkey and Egypt, and to target further operating efficiencies. In addition, we grew sales of differentiated holidays significantly in the first half, by 31% for holidays to own-brand hotels, and by 18% for sales to selected partner hotels, helping to improve the competitiveness of our product offering. We reduced the size of our retail store network by a further 10% to around 600 stores, while at the same time growing online sales on a booked basis by 33%, with mobile performing particularly well. We expect that continued implementation of these actions will, together, help to return the business to profitable growth. 

Group Airline

Our Group Airline revenue increased by £105 million (9%) to £1,313 million on a like-for-like basis due to customers increasing by 11% to 6.6 million, while yields increased by 1% and 3% in long-haul and short/medium-haul respectively.

Growth in short/medium-haul was as a result of a strong increase in demand from third-party tour operators, following the collapse of Monarch and Air Berlin/Niki. Consequently, short/medium-haul yields increased by 3% to £120 per seat sold. Long-haul performance was strong with a 1% increase in yields to £317 per seat sold.

This strong passenger growth, in combination with our upgraded booking system, facilitated an increase in ancillary revenues of 8%, primarily in relation to seat reservations. However, ancillary revenue per customer decreased by 3% to £19.56 (H1 2017 like for like: £20.23) due to a higher share of short/medium-haul customers which typically attract lower ancillary sales than long-haul routes.

Total cost per ASK increased from 4.29 pence per ASK in H1 2017 to 4.33 pence per ASK. The 1% increase is a result of positive fuel hedge result compared to last year as well as cost reduction measures, which have materially mitigated significant currency headwinds impacting those elements of the cost base denominated in US Dollars.

Underlying EBIT for our Group Airline improved by £20 million to a seasonal loss of £59 million. The improvement was a result of delivering our turnaround programme for Condor, supported by a strong trading performance in the short/medium-haul market, which allowed us to increase yields at the same time as hedged fuel costs decreased. This yield increase, in combination with capacity increases in short/medium-haul routes to satisfy strong tour operator demand for our services, led to revenue growth of 7% in Germany. In addition, the Group Airline result includes a £7 million benefit (H1 2017: £5 million benefit), as a result of the reassessment of maintenance provisions.

Our UK Airline reported revenue 12% higher than last year, reflecting moderate capacity increases and significant yield improvements, especially in the short/medium-haul market. However the yield developments were not sufficient to fully compensate for the substantial currency headwinds for the US Dollar and the Euro.

Corporate

Corporate costs increased by £11 million to £25 million (H1 2017: £14 million), which reflects additional costs incurred to support corporate projects undertaken during the first half, such as the set-up of the Hotel Fund, and the timing impact of other head office items, especially in relation to IT.

OTHER FINANCIAL ITEMS

Net Finance Charges

Group net finance costs for the period of £66 million were £8 million lower than last year (H1 2017: £74 million). Bank and bond interest charges reduced by £4 million following the replacement of our previous bonds with new lower-coupon bonds issued in December 2016 and December 2017. The remaining improvement is due to a lower non-cash interest as a result of a change in discount rates.

Further information on Finance costs are set out in Note 5 on page 30.

Separately Disclosed Items

Net Separately Disclosed Items in H1 2018 comprised a charge of £67 million, which is £4 million higher than the prior year (H1 2017: £63 million) as analysed below:

Further information on separately disclosed items is set out in Note 4 on pages 28 and 29.

Summary Cash Flow Statement(i)

The seasonal free cash outflow of £718 million was £69 million higher than last year (H1 2017: £(649) million), reflecting a £62 million increase in our working capital outflow which primarily related to the timing of aircraft maintenance events, and the acceleration of transformational activity.

Net cash interest paid was £16 million lower than last year at £51 million due mainly to lower coupon rates on new bonds issued in December 2016 and December 2017 to refinance more expensive borrowing.Current year cash exceptional charges totalling £77 million are analysed as follows:

The Group uses a measure of cash conversion representing the percentage of underlying profit before tax that is converted into free cash flow. On this basis, cash conversion has increased on a last twelve months ('LTM') basis to 38% (H1 2017 LTM: 31%) due mainly to the improved working capital associated with increased bookings for the Summer 2018 season.

Net Debt

The Group sources debt and finance facilities from a combination of the international capital markets and its relationship banking group. During the first half of FY18, on a like-for-like basis, the Group's net debt has fallen from £980 million to £886 million, equivalent to an improvement of £94 million.

The composition and maturity of the Group's net debt is summarised below.

In November 2017 the Group entered into new financing arrangements amounting to £975 million. These include an enlarged, £875 million revolving credit facility and bonding and guarantee facility, maturing in November 2022. In addition, the Group has a £100 million annual rolling bilateral funding from one of our insurance providers.

In December 2017, the Group refinanced its €400 million bond with a new bond of the same size which matures in June 2023. This has further improved the Group's liquidity and debt maturity profile and has lowered our annual interest costs due to a coupon rate reduction of nearly 300 basis points compared to the bond which was refinanced.

Treasury and Cash Management

The Group's funding, liquidity and exposure to foreign currencies, interest rates, commodity prices and financial credit risk are managed by a centralised Treasury function and are conducted within a framework of Board-approved policies and guidelines.

The principal aim of Treasury activities is to reduce volatility by hedging, which provides a degree of certainty to the operating segments, and to ensure a sufficient level of liquidity headroom at all times.

The successful execution of policy is intended to support a sustainable low-risk growth strategy, enable the Group to meet its financial commitments, and enhance the Group's credit rating over the medium term.

Due to the seasonality of the Group's business cycle and cash flows, a substantial amount of surplus cash accumulates during the summer months. Efficient use and tight control of cash throughout the Group is facilitated by the use of cash pooling arrangements and the net surplus cash is invested by Treasury in high quality, short-term liquid instruments consistent with Board-approved policy, which is designed to mitigate counterparty credit risk. Yield is maximised within the terms of the policy but returns in general remain low given the low interest rate environment in the UK, the US and Europe.

A small portion of the Group's cash is restricted in overseas jurisdictions primarily due to legal or regulatory requirements. Such cash does not form part of our liquidity headroom calculation.

Hedging of Fuel and Foreign Exchange

The objective of the Group's hedging policy is to smooth fluctuations in the price of Jet Fuel and foreign currencies, in order to provide greater certainty for planning purposes. The proportion of our exposures that have been hedged are shown in the table below.

As at 31 March 2018

As Jet Fuel is priced in US Dollars, we buy forward the requisite amount of US Dollars from a mix of base currencies. For FY18, additional fuel requirements during the second quarter, related to the growth of our fleet, has resulted in a higher hedged rate for fuel. As a result, we estimate that our FY18 fuel costs will increase by around £10 million compared with last year, on a like-for-like basis.

The Group's policy is not to hedge the translation impact of profits generated outside the UK. As a result of currency movements during the period, underlying EBIT in H1 2018 was lower by £6 million. If end-April rates for the Euro and Swedish Krona were maintained throughout the remainder of FY18, there would be a negative year-on-year translation impact on EBIT of approximately £19 million.

The average and period end exchange rates relative to the Group were as follows:

Credit Rating

The Group has received an upgrade from Standard and Poor's to B+ recognising the continuing progress in Thomas Cook's transformation. The outlook from all three of the credit rating agencies remains stable.

Forward looking statements

This document includes forward-looking statements that are based on estimates and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are all statements other than statements of historical facts or statements in the present tense, and can be identified with words such as "aim", "anticipates", "aspires", "assumes", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "intends", "hopes", "may", "outlook", "plans", "potential", "projects", "predicts", "should", "targets", "will", "would", as well as the negatives of these terms and other words of similar meaning. These statements involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those otherwise expressed.

The forward-looking statements in this document are made based upon our estimates, expectations and beliefs concerning future events affecting the Group and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding the Group's present and future business strategies and the environment in which it will operate, which may prove not to be accurate. We caution that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees and that actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Undue reliance should, therefore, not be placed on such forward-looking statements.

Any forward-looking statements contained in this document apply only as at the date of this document and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results. Other than in accordance with any legal or regulatory obligations, the Group does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement after the date on which the forward-looking statement was made, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

The assessment indicated that the following risks are of a particular relevance to the likely outturn for September 2018 as their impact could have an immediate effect:

· Due to the nature of its business, the Group will always be exposed to a risk of a health and safety incident that may impact our customers or colleagues together with associated reputational damage.

· A significant decline in customer demand due to the growing threat of terrorist attacks in our key tourist destinations, may lead to decreased revenue.

· Cash generation is insufficient to strategically manage debt repayment and/or dividend payment.

The potential likelihood and impact of these risks remain broadly unchanged since the September 2017 year-end evaluation was performed.

· Our transformation initiatives fail to deliver our strategic and operational targets.

· Inability to consistently meet customer expectations may have an adverse impact on Thomas Cook's market share.

· Failure to develop a more diverse product portfolio may have an adverse impact on our ability to improve the customers' experience of Thomas Cook holidays.

· Failure to achieve growth in our digital distribution channel may have an adverse impact on our market share, profitability and future growth.

· Failure to recruit or to retain the right people at the right time will lead to a lack of capability or capacity to enable the implementation of our business strategy.

· IT architecture is unable to support the needs of the business.

· Information security and cyber threats are currently a priority across all industries and remain a key Government agenda item. The Group recognises that we have high risk exposure in this area.

· The decision for the UK to exit the EU has a detrimental impact on the Group's operations.

· Failure to comply with regulatory, legislative and corporate social responsibility requirements in the legal jurisdictions where Thomas Cook operates.

· The success of our Group Airline business depends on our ability to effectively manage our fleet. Inability to operate the required number and types of aircraft in our fleet may lead to missed revenue or reduced margins. Inability to operate the fleet effectively may lead to customer dissatisfaction, cost increases and reduced profitability.

The potential likelihood and impact of these risks remain broadly unchanged since the September 2017 year-end evaluation was performed.

In addition, in February 2017, the European Union Competition Commission launched an investigation into the travel industry regarding hotel accommodation agreements. As announced publicly on 3 February 2017, the Group notes the decision by the European Commission to investigate the availability of hotel bookings and pricing between member states. Across the Group's 15 European source markets, Thomas Cook is committed to fair and open competition and will cooperate fully with the Commission through this process.

This is the headline measure of the Group's performance, and is based on profit from operations before the impact of separately disclosed items. Underlying EBIT provides a measure of the underlying operating performance of the Group and growth in profitability of the operations.

The Group uses three non-statutory cash flow measures to manage the business. Operating Cashflow is net cash used in operating activities excluding the cash effect of separately disclosed items. Free cash flow is cash from operating activities less exceptional items, capital expenditure and net interest paid, before proceeds on disposal. Net Cashflow is the net decrease in cash and cash equivalents excluding the net movement in borrowings, facility set-up fees and finance lease repayments. These cash flow measures are indicators of the financial management of the business. They reflect the cash generated by the business before and after investing and financing activities and explain changes in the Group's Net Debt position.

The notes on pages 26 to 33 form an integral part of the condensed consolidated interim financial information.

The notes on pages 26 to 33 form an integral part of the condensed consolidated interim financial information.

The notes on pages 26 to 33 form an integral part of the condensed consolidated interim financial information.

The notes on pages 26 to 33 form an integral part of the condensed consolidated interim financial information.

The unaudited movements in equity for the six months ended 31 March 2018 were as follows:

The restated unaudited movements in equity for the six months ended 31 March 2017 were as follows:

1. Basis of Preparation

Thomas Cook Group plc ('the company') and its subsidiaries (together, 'the Group') is one of the world's leading leisure travel groups. The company is a public limited liability company limited by shares incorporated, registered and domiciled in England and Wales under the Companies Act 2006 and listed on the London Stock Exchange. The address of its registered office is 3rd Floor, South Building, 200 Aldersgate, London EC1A 4HD.

The consolidated interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority, the Listing Rules and with IAS 34, 'Interim Financial Reporting' as adopted by the European Union. This condensed consolidated interim financial information does not comprise statutory accounts of the Group within the meaning of Section 434(3) and 435(3) of the Companies Act 2006. They should be read in conjunction with the Annual Report for the year ended 30 September 2017 (the 'Annual Report'), which has been prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union, approved by the Board of Directors on 21 November 2017 and delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditors on those accounts was unqualified, did not contain an emphasis of matter paragraph and did not contain any statement under section 498 of the Companies Act 2006.

The accounting policies and methods of computation used and presentation of these consolidated interim financial statements are the same as those in the Annual Report.

The consolidated half-yearly financial information has been prepared on a going concern basis. The Directors of the Group have a reasonable expectation that, on the basis of current financial projections and borrowing facilities available, the Group is well positioned to meet its commitments and obligations for at least the next 12 months from the date of this report. Having reassessed the principal risks, the Directors considered it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the interim financial information.

The half year report for the six months ended 31 March 2018 was approved by the Directors on 16 May 2018. The half year report has been reviewed, not audited. The auditor's review report is on page 35.

In 2017, management identified several adjustments that, in their opinion should be applied to the Group's financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2016. As a result the Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2017 has been restated. Refer to Note 33 of the 2017 Annual Report for further details of the restatement.

2. New or amended standard and interpretations in issue but not yet effective or EU endorsed

At the date of authorisation of these financial statements, the Group has not applied the following new and revised IFRSs that have been issued but are not yet effective or EU endorsed:

IFRS 9 "Financial instruments" is a replacement for IAS 39 'Financial Instruments' and covers three distinct areas. Phase 1 contains new requirements for the classification and measurement of financial assets and liabilities. Phase 2 relates to the impairment of financial assets and requires the calculation of impairment on an expected loss basis rather than the current incurred loss basis. Phase 3 relates to less stringent requirements for general hedge accounting. IFRS 9 is effective for periods commencing on or after 1 January 2018, and therefore will be applied by the Group in fiscal year 2019. Based on our preliminary assessment, the Group does not currently anticipate a material impact from the new standard other than in providing additional disclosures in the Annual Report.

IFRS 15 "Revenues from Contracts with Customers" introduces a five-step approach to the timing of revenue recognition based on performance obligations in customer contracts. IFRS 15 is effective for periods commencing 1 January 2018 and therefore will be applied by the Group in fiscal year 2019. The Group continues to assess the possible impact of IFRS 15, which involves:

· an examination of key contract types in order to identify any distinct performance obligations in the context of the contractual arrangement;

· assessing the point at which the Group delivers promised services to its customers and whether this presents a requirement to change the timing of its revenue recognition. Certain revenue streams within the Tour Operator segment, depending on specific contract terms, are currently recognised at the start of a customer's holiday on a departures basis. Under IFRS 15, the Group may be required to recognise revenue over the period a customer is on holiday. The Group expects this change to only impact revenue and the associated cost of sales where customers are still on holiday at the reporting date;

· assessing whether the Group provides services on its own account (gross revenue) or on behalf of a third party (net revenue), new criteria within IFRS 15 may result in net revenue recognition in certain revenue streams within both the Tour Operator and Airline segment; and

· understanding the specific new disclosure requirements prescribed. New disclosure requirements under IFRS 15 will result in a substantial extension of the qualitative and quantitative revenue disclosure.

Our evaluation and assessment is not yet complete therefore a reliable quantification of the effects of IFRS 15 on the Group's financial position and performance is not yet possible however the Group does not anticipate a material impact from the new standard other than in providing additional disclosures in the Annual Report.

IFRS 16 "Leases" provides a single lessee accounting model, requiring lessees to recognise right of use assets and lease liabilities for all applicable leases. The leasing standard is expected to have a material impact on net debt, gross assets, profit from operations and interest. IFRS 16 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019, and therefore will be applied by the Group in fiscal year 2020. Management have commenced a project across the Group to assess the overall impact of the standard, including considering the systems and processes required for implementation and the options around transition. We expect to report on the impact in the 2018 Annual Report. In addition, the Group awaits the result of ongoing HMRC consultation to understand the impact on taxes.

IFRS 17 "Insurance Contracts" is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2021 subject to endorsement by the EU. IFRS 17 establishes the principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of insurance contracts within the scope of the standard. The Group plans to assess the impact of IFRS 17 closer to implementation date.

IFRIC 23  "Uncertainty over Income Tax Treatments" clarifies how to apply the recognition and measurements requirements in IAS12 'Income Taxes' when there is uncertainty over income tax treatments. IFRIC 23 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019 and therefore will be applied by the Group in fiscal year 2019. The Group is currently assessing the impact of IFRIC 23.

There are no further IFRSs or IFRIC interpretations that are not yet effective that would be expected to have a material impact on the Group.

3. Segmental information

In 2017, the Group refined its organisational structure resulting in a reassessment of its reportable segments. In line with this change the Group reassessed its reporting segments.

The principal activities of the Group are therefore presented in the following segments:

· Tour operations and associated activities ('Group Tour Operator') within the Group's 17 source markets;

· Airline-related services, including both scheduled and charter services, and associated activities ('Group Airline') within the Group's five airlines; and

· Certain residual businesses and corporate functions that are not allocated to these divisions and are shown separately as Corporate.

These reportable segments are consistent with how information is presented to the Group Chief Executive (chief operating decision maker) for the purpose of resource allocation and assessment of performance. Segment information for the period ended 31 March 2017 has been restated accordingly.

Segmental information for these activities is presented below: