Thomas Cook India’s business is hit by bankruptcies, political unrest and heat waves

• Thomas Cook reported a consolidated revenue growth of 6% to ₹17 billion from ₹16 billion.
• Its standalone revenue from operations decreased by 5% to ₹5.3 billion from ₹5.6 billion.

Thomas Cook India’s second quarter consolidated revenue and profits grew, but its standalone revenue from operations fell.

The company’s consolidated revenues grew by 6% to ₹17 billion from ₹16 billion in the same quarter last year.

However, its standalone revenue from operations decreased by 5% to ₹5.3 billion from ₹5.6 billion.

Its travel services were hit due to multiple reasons. “This has been a challenging quarter for the travel industry with the collapse of Jet Airways leading to a surge in airfares, as well as the negative impact on customers and to the entire Indian travel industry caused by the closure of Cox & Kings,” said Madhavan Menon, Chairman and Managing Director, Thomas Cook (India).

The company’s business faced many global headwinds too. “The geopolitical unrest in Hong Kong and the Middle East, haze and heat in parts of South East Asia etc. impacted parts of our outbound and DMS businesses. Also, being a fairly recent event - we continue to monitor the impact at a retail level, of the closure of Thomas Cook UK,” said Madhavan Menon, Chairman and Managing Director, Thomas Cook (India).

The iconic British travel company Thomas Cook shocked travellers around the world as it declared bankruptcy in September.

However, Thomas Cook India is a completely separate entity from Thomas Cook UK, as it was acquired by Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings in 2012.

Fairfax Financial Holdings is run by Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa. It had bought 77% stake in Thomas Cook India, as Thomas Cook UK exited.