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TUI Travel trading well ahead of merger

Last updated: 09:41 04 Dec 2014 GMT, First published: 10:41 04 Dec 2014 GMT

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UK holiday group TUI travel (LON:TT.) delivered a 3% rise in pre-tax profits ahead its merger with German parent company TUI.

The group added winter 2014/15 trading and bookings from summer 2015 had also been healthy.

For the upcoming winter season, the firm has sold 63% of its holidays with overall bookings and average selling prices up 1%.

In the UK, winter bookings are up 4% with long-haul bookings up 13%.

New winter resorts include the Sensatori Jamaica, which opened its doors in May 2014.

There has also been a strong start to UK trading for summer 2015, with bookings up by 9%. 

The travel firm, which runs Thomson and First Choice, posted a £475mln underlying profit before tax for the year to September, slightly higher than the £461mln it made in 2013.

Revenue for the year was £14.6bn, down 3% on last year's £15bn, which was blamed on an "adverse foreign currency translation impact".

Performance in the UK, Netherlands and Germany picked up while its French tour operator halved its losses.

Weakness in the Nordics in the first half of the year held things back, along with tougher trading conditions in Russia and Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the business is on track to complete its merger with TUI AG by 11 December.

Peter Long, chief executive, said the move marks the start of an exciting new phase of growth, delivering significant opportunities and value to customers, employees and shareholders.

Shares were 12p higher at 440p.

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