Holidaybreak saw full year pre-tax profits drop from £40 million to £32.4 million in the 12 months to September.
Group chief executive Carl Michel said: “The group’s overall trading performance for the year was disappointing against our initial expectations for the year with an unsettled and unpredictable final quarter marking the start of the recession.
“Although the economic environment will remain difficult, the spread and diversity of our businesses gives the group exposure to other European markets that will be differently affected by the uncertainty ahead providing us with additional resilience.
“The droup remains focused on delivering value for our customers and we believe that our businesses will perform satisfactorily in a recession.
“We are taking a number of steps and initiatives, including cutting costs, managing cash and reducing discretionary capital investment, to manage the business effectively in these challenging times.â€
Revenue in the education sector revenue was £109.5 million (2007: £26.1m). Revenue in 2007 related only to three months of trading following the acquisition of PGL. Headline operating profit was £10.9m (2007: £8.5m). For 2008/09, the division is 78% booked and showing a growth in sales of 8%.
Hotel Breaks’ revenue was £149.9m (2007: £139.0m) and headline operating profit was £15.5m (2007: £17.0m).
Sales intake slowed markedly after May 2008 at Superbreak. For 2008/09, sales intake for the division is currently down approximately 15% reflecting weaker demand into London, in particular, and for short breaks generally.
Adventure Travel’s revenue was £94.6m (2007: £90.0m) and headline operating profit was £4.8m (2007: £6.6m). Margins have been adversely affected by geopolitical events and fuel cost increases, the group said. For 2008/09 the division is 40% booked and showing growth in sales of 1%.
Camping revenue was £101.1m (2007: £102.8m) on 5% lower capacity. Headline operating profit was £13.8m (2007: £11.7m), the highest level for several years. Next year’s bookings are “in line with expectations” with approximately 34% of sales booked.
Neil Bright, group finance director at HMV Group, has joined as a non-executive director.
by Phil Davies
