In the first quarter of this fiscal year, the TUI Group reported revenue of €2.37 bill, around five times higher than in the previous year’s 1Q figure of €468 mill.
The seasonal loss was significantly reduced – underlying EBIT €-274 mill, compared with €-676 mill in 1Q21.
Strong booking momentum was reported across all markets with new bookings for summer 2022 now above pre-crisis levels
TUI CEO, Fritz Joussen, said: “We expect a strong summer 2022. The path out of the pandemic is becoming increasingly clear. Demand for travel is high across all markets. TUI has used the time to transform: we are leaner and more efficient today and are becoming more profitable than before the crisis. On this basis, we will push ahead with the repayment of the state aid granted and the focus on new growth.”
In TUI’s cruise operations, 14 of the 16 ships were in service in 4Q21 across the three brands- TUI Cruises, Marella Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises – compared with just five in 1Q21.
As a result, passenger days quadrupled to 1 mill. The segment’s underlying EBIT improved to €-32 mill (1Q21: €-98 mill).
TUI Cruises operated six ships out of its seven-ship fleet in 1Q22. An average daily rate of €155 was up 32% versus 1Q21 with €118 when three ships operated. This reflected the resumption of cruises in the Canaries, the Caribbean and the UAE, versus the shorter average duration ‘Blue Cruises’ operated last year.
Occupancy of the operated fleet was 53%, an increase of 18% on 1Q21 with the latter end of the quarter impacted by both short-term Omicron-related amendments and the early curtailment of ‘Mein Schiff 6’ voyage, due to rising incidence rates.
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ average daily rate across its whole fleet of five ships was €624, up 44% versus 1Q21 when two ships operated, reflecting the resumption of Around The World itineraries, as well as trips to Antarctica and the UAE.
Occupancy of the full fleet was 50%, an increasing of 13% on 1Q21, with the latter end of the quarter impacted by both short-term Omicron-related amendments and the early curtailment of two ships, due to rising incidence rates.
Marella Cruises operated three ships out of its four-ship fleet in 1Q21, delivering average daily rate of £142 and occupancy of 48% versus the previous quarter, which saw operations suspended in line with UK government travel advice.
Similar to TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Marella also saw short-term amendments for November and December, 2021 departures. TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises delivered a €66.7 mill improvement in underlying EBIT versus the prior year.
The improvement reflects the wider resumption of operations compared to limited ‘Blue Cruises’ itineraries in 1Q21, as well as a government grant of €20 mill recognised in 1Q22, with the prior year, including a €20 mill impairment charge.
Marella delivered an underlying EBIT in line with 1Q21, due to a more subdued environment in UK, which was further limited by disruption costs arising from a Spanish labour strike, delaying the return of ‘Mirella Explorer’ from drydock in December, 2021.
