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All eyes on Tui following latest Thomas Cook profit warning

All eyes will be on Tui this week as it reveals how the summer heatwave affected its financial performance.

Thursday’s annual results follow the latest of two profit warnings by rival Thomas Cook.

Tui reassured investors in September, reiterating its 10% growth guidance for underlying earnings over the year.

Analysts are expecting revenue to reach €19.3 billion (£17.3 billion), according to Bloomberg consensus, compared with €18.5 billion last year, while pre-tax profits are expected to hit €1.04 billion, The Sunday Times reported.

Tui has a more diversified offering than Thomas Cook – with hotels and cruises a larger part of its mix.

In September’s trading update, Tui chief executive Fritz Joussen said the company had experienced growth in bookings in “all major markets”, although warmer weather had held it back.

But CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson told City AM: “If Thomas Cook’s recent profit warnings are any sort of guide, we should be concerned about the latest full year numbers from its sector peer TUI.”

He added that despite the company maintaining profit forecasts, investors “remain sceptical” with shares at 17-month lows.

Graham Spooner, analyst at The Share Centre, said the company was better placed to avoid the heatwave-induced financial turbulence than Thomas Cook.

“Tui is a much bigger company with less exposure to the tour operator sector in the UK, and its last update in September was reassuring as it showed that sales had not deteriorated over the summer as many had predicted due to the heatwave,” he said.

He expected full-year earnings to rise by around 10% in line with the company’s guidance.

Morgan Stanley is estimating pre-tax profits up 4% at €1.14 billion on revenues of €19.6 billion.

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