Thomas Cook posts wider losses

The business, which has already taken a £22 million hit after the unrest in Tunisia and Egypt caused bookings to be cancelled, said operating losses increased 36 per cent to £165.8 million in the six months to March 31.

The ongoing conflict in Libya meant holidaymakers were wary of travelling to North Africa and the firm said bookings to the continent would be at about 60 per cent of the level originally planned.

This means profits will take an additional hit in its second half.

The UK market remains tough for Thomas Cook and its performance for the full-year is likely to be worse than last year, it warned.

However, UK bookings for its winter season, which runs until the end of April, were up 1 per cent after being boosted by the royal wedding.

Bookings for the summer period are flat but profit margins are lower as the group keeps its prices down to attract cautious consumers.

Thomas Cook is carrying out an ongoing review of its UK business, which saw it make 500 redundancies last year, mainly at its head office in Peterborough.

The company said it is considering reducing its UK airline fleet as it looks to reduce winter losses.