Squeezed household budgets and the attraction of cheaper holidays at home prompted a 6% rise in bookings for Shearings’ 2010 trading figures.
The coach operator said it was particularly pleased with the performance of its value brands National Holidays and Caledonian which enjoyed year-on-year sales growth of 15%.
Adjusted operating profits rose 12% to £4.6 million and revenues were 4% higher than 2009, at £187.1 million.
Shearings received some 684,000 bookings in 2010, compared to 640,000 in 2009.
The company said shorter stay holidays were more in demand as people watched their purses, with domestic beach resorts such as Torquay and Llandudno popular. It also saw a rise in interest in Scottish Highlands trips, the New Forest, the Cotswolds and the Lake District. City breaks also proved in demand.
However, the operator’s portfolio of hotels showed slightly less healthy growth although it did match 2009’s performance.
Chief executive Denis Wormwell said: “Last year presented a challenge for most operators in our market, with generally weak consumer confidence affecting people’s holiday budgets and two spells of adverse weather. Against this backdrop, the board was very pleased with the group’s overall sales and profit performance and the strength of its balance sheet.
“Significant investment in our coach fleet, holiday product, hotel estate and marketing has enabled us to continue to provide quality, value for money product for our loyal customer base, while broadening our appeal to new customers. This places our divisions in a strong position to accelerate sales and profits growth.
“The board is particularly pleased with progress of the group’s value holidays division, where our product has met the needs of holidaymakers struggling with rising inflation and lower discretionary budgets.
“This demonstrates the success of our strategy to develop a broad product offering for an increasingly diverse range of customers and income groups."
by Dinah Hatch
.
