Travel agent Thomas Cook has warned investors that the end of the year is set to be very painful. In a trading statement released on Thursday, Thomas Cook says profits for the year are set to be £25 million ($39 million) below previous forecasts. That's down to the political turmoil in Greece right now and the terrorist attack on Tunisia last month. Both of those events are understandably putting people off holidaying in the 2 countries, which are usually top tourist destinations for Thomas Cook. CEO Peter Frankhauser says in the statement: Since the end of the third quarter, our business has been impacted by significant external shocks. In response to the tragic events in Tunisia, we acted swiftly and decisively, evacuating more than 15,000 guests on approximately 60 flights and sending Special Assistance Teams to offer logistical and compassionate support to customers and staff. In Greece, our local teams have worked diligently to ensure that economic issues do not disrupt our customers' holidays. To make matters worse, the impact of foreign exchange is also now set to be worse. The depreciation of the Euro and the Swedish Krona means Thomas Cook will take a £39 million ($60.9 million) hit from FX, rather than the previously forecast £25 million ($39 million). Shares in the travel agent are down 0.6% right now, but were down as much as 1.5% earlier on Thursday. Revenue in the third quarter fell from £2.2 billion ($3.4 billion) to £1.95 billion ($3 billion), a result of weak bookings flagged at half-year results. Thomas Cook says it still expects slight growth this year.Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: This 1998 supercar could auction for $15 million
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT feedproxy.google.com |
