First Choice Holidays has record profit for 2005 |
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Published
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Thu, 08 Dec 2005 17:05
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LONDON: Britain's First Choice Holidays Plc. posted a 16 per cent increase in its pre-tax profit for the year ended October 2005 compared with the previous year. The profit before tax, goodwill amortisation and exceptional items stood at a record 114 million pounds, the holiday group said. Sales went up 11 per cent to 2.6 billion pounds.
The company, which has been focusing more on long-haul and adventure holidays in view of the competition in the package holiday sector, said its specialist businesses had seen a rise in turnover by 18 per cent and operating profit by 23 per cent. These businesses now represented 53 per cent of the group's profit. Revenue from its mainstream package holidays went up 4 per cent for winter 2005-2006 and 7 per cent for summer 2006.
The company announced that it is buying Grand Expeditions from North Castle Partners for 54 million pounds and that it had agreed to acquire Intrav Inc., the U.S. tour operator belonging to Swiss travel group Kuoni Reisen Holding AG, for 37 million pounds. The latter deal will include four cruise ships. The company had already made 12 acquisitions in this fiscal.
The company's chief executive Peter Long said the company is poised for further growth and he is confident about the coming year. The company had identified North America as a key market and the two acquisitions will help it to enhance it existing specialist packages.
The company said it expects to pay a dividend of 6.6 pence a share.
First Choice provides Caribbean yacht charters under its brand Sunsail and facilitates expeditions to Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro under the brand Exodus. It makes almost 75 per cent of its sales in summer.
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