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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Thomas Cook (India) slumps as shares of UK-based parent collapse


Thomas Cook (India) tumbled 10.53% to Rs 39.50 at 15:30 IST on BSE on a rub-off effect after shares of the company's UK-based parent Thomas Cook Group Plc slumped over 70% in London stock market today, 22 November 2011.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 122.69 points, or 0.77%, to 16,068.79.

On BSE, 15.78 lakh shares were traded in the counter compared with average volume of 51,000 shares over the past two weeks.



The stock hit a high of Rs 44.50 and a low of Rs 36.70 so far during the day.

Shares of UK-based Thomas Cook Group plunged after the company said it was again renegotiating its banking facilities and would delay the publication of its full-year results because of deteriorating trading conditions. The latest announcement came a month after announcing that banks had relaxed loan conditions and agreed to provide additional funds. The cash and liquidity position have also worsened since the September year-end, it said.

Reports suggest that Thomas Cook Group, which had net debt of 902.5 million pounds as of 30 June 2011, has been affected by a slide in bookings to destinations in North Africa after this year's political unrest there, and weak consumer demand in the UK.

Thomas Cook Group Plc held 77.27% stake in Thomas Cook (India) as on 30 September 2011.

Shares of Thomas Cook (India) rose 0.46% to Rs 44.15 on Monday, 21 November 2011 after the company said it opened its first Gold Circle Partner outlet in Ranchi on 21 November 2011, which marks the company's foray into Jharkhand.

Thomas Cook (India) said that the new Gold Circle Partner outlet is located in a prominent commercial area of Ranchi. The Ranchi Gold Circle Partner outlet will provide a diverse range of services such as holidays (domestic and international packages, individual and group tours), air and rail tickets, cruises, foreign exchange, travel insurance, visa and passport services and MICE, the company said in a statement.

Commenting on the development, Mr Madhav Pai, Chief Operating Officer-Leisure Travel (Outbound), Thomas Cook (India) said, "Jharkhand has tremendous potential in the leisure segment-both outbound and domestic, and we hope to offer convenience and access to this potential customer base via our new franchise outlet. Ranchi is a rapidly growing commercial hub for the region that comprises the upcoming states including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal besides the North-East. This is a reiteration of our tier II & III expansion strategy. Our new Ranchi Gold Circle Partner outlet will provide our clients an opportunity to interact with our experts for all their travel related requirements".

On a consolidated basis, Thomas Cook (India)'s net profit rose 11.6% to Rs 25.05 crore on 13.7% growth in net sales to Rs 102.14 crore in Q3 September 2011 over Q3 September 2010.

Thomas Cook (India) is the largest integrated travel and travel related financial services company in the country offering a broad spectrum of services that include foreign exchange, corporate travel, MICE, leisure travel and travel insurance.