Shares in On the Beach Group (LSE:OTB) rose 15% to 221p on Tuesday after the online travel retailer reported a strong start to the new financial year and confirmed confidence in its 2026 profit targets.
The company said bookings for winter 2025/26 were up 15% year on year, while forward bookings for summer 2026 had risen 8%. The group expects adjusted pre-tax profit for the year to 30 September 2026 to come in between £39 million and £43 million, in line with market expectations.
Peel Hunt reiterated its Buy recommendation on the stock and maintained a target price of 400p. “Current trading remains strong – winter 2025/26 bookings are up 15% year on year and summer 2026 bookings are up 8% year to date.
On the Beach continues to take market share,” the broker said. “We are not changing our £40 million forecast today.”
The upbeat outlook followed a record set of full-year results. Adjusted pre-tax profit for the 12 months to 30 September 2025 rose 20% to £35 million, with adjusted earnings per share up 45% to 19.0p.
Total transaction value climbed 11% to £1.25 billion, the fourth consecutive year of growth.
Shaun Morton, chief executive, said: “During the period we achieved TTV of £1.25 billion and sent a record 1.7 million customers on their beach holidays and city breaks. As anticipated, we achieved our biggest summer to date as customers continued to prioritise their summer holidays.”
Peel Hunt described the company’s medium-term plan as “convincing”, noting the inclusion of a “detailed route map” to reach adjusted pre-tax profit of £85 million and earnings per share of 38.7p by 2029.
The group has continued to benefit from strong demand for premium beach holidays, with four- and five-star trips now accounting for over 80% of total transaction value. Summer 2025 bookings rose 13% year on year, outpacing the broader market.
A final dividend of 3p per share was declared, taking the full-year payout to 4p. On the Beach also completed £50 million of share buybacks during the year, cancelling 22.5 million shares, equivalent to 14% of its issued capital.