Confident Owners foresee recovery
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Your support makes all the difference.OWNERS Abroad, Britain's second-largest package holiday group, says recent bookings have been encouraging despite the rash of discounting.
It announced pre-tax losses of pounds 27.2m for the six months to April against losses of pounds 21.4m last time, broadly in line with market expectations. Turnover rose 29 per cent to pounds 185m.
Owners has sold 80 per cent of its summer holidays, most at full brochure price, and Air 2000, the in-house airline, is fully booked for the summer.
However, it withdrew 100,000 holidays in April because of the surplus overhanging the market and can withdraw 30,000 more at no cost.
Analysts downgraded final profits forecasts to pounds 28m-pounds 33m after Howard Klein, chairman, said tour operators, misled by reports of economic recovery, took up too much slack after International Leisure Group (ILG) collapsed.
'There was an element, I won't say of euphoria, but certainly of some expectation,' he said. 'Operators were induced to believe that they could take up some of ILG's capacity. The market is up, but there are too many holidays in the system. I still believe that all positive long-term factors hold good and that the industry can make a substantial profit.'
Roger Allard, managing director, said some end of line discounts may be offered to clear stock, but he expected no major cuts.
The dividend rose 8 per cent to 0.98p.
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