In light of recent challenges in the aviation sector and the perceived impact on the Travel & Tourism industry, Mr. Madhavan Menon, Chairman and Managing Director, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. stated:
1. Cash and bank deposits balance of the Thomas Cook India Group (consolidated level) is at Rs. 10588 Mn. as of March 31, 2019.
2. On a standalone basis Thomas Cook India is debt free upon pre-payment of Rs. 670 Mn debenture obligations ahead of schedule. This has been made possible using stable and strong cash flows that the Thomas Cook India Group is generating year over year. Group generates an annual free cash flow of around Rs. 2000-2500 Mn.
3. As earlier reported, for the Financial Year ended March 31, 2019 on a comparable basis, the Group’s consolidated revenue from operations increased by 18% from Rs.56 Bn. to Rs.66 Bn. Consolidated PBT increased by 985% from Rs. 53 Mn. in FY18 to Rs. 573 Mn. in FY19.
4. Our Travel businesses have negative working capital and therefore do not require any external funding.
5. We have witnessed a turnaround of our international Destination Management Specialist companies during FY 2019. Additionally, during FY 2020, contribution to the profitability is expected from our recent acquisitions including Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging (DEI).
6. Our forward booking position reflects a healthy increase of over 12%.
Mr. Madhavan Menon, Chairman and Managing Director, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., said, “We have witnessed robust performances across all our key travel and foreign exchange businesses and continue to remain at a healthy financial position having prepaid our obligations and are debt free at a holding company level.”
He added, “We are bullish on both the foreign exchange as well as the inbound and outbound businesses. We remain open to new investments, should the right opportunity present itself.”
