TUI Travel has reported record profit growth putting it down to its ‘unique’ holidays, direct distribution and the scale of the business.
The operator has seen pre-tax profits up 21% to £493m in 2013 compared to £390m last year, it said in its results for the year ended 30 September.
And the travel firm has seen underlying UK operating profit growth of 27% to £251m, compared to £197m in 2012.
Revenue was up 4% from £14,460m in 2012 to £15,051m in 2013.
TUI Travel reported sales of higher-margin ‘unique’ holidays now account for 69% of mainstream holidays.
66% of mainstream holidays are now distributed directly with online sales at 35%.
Customer satisfaction is up two percentage points to 79% across its key markets, it reported.
The operator added that winter 2013/14 is trading is in line with its expectations, with 60% of the programme sold.
It said it was pleased with summer 2014 trading, despite comparatives from last year being very strong.
Peter Long, chief executive of TUI Travel PLC, said: "The business continues to deliver sustainable growth through our unique holiday experiences, increasingly distributed online, whilst leveraging its scale as one organisation. This in turn, will drive further value for both our customers and shareholders.
"Building on this year’s outperformance where we have achieved a 13% underlying operating profit growth, I remain confident that we will deliver consistently on our five year annualised growth target of between 7% to 10% at constant currency."
