TUI profit falls 44.7% as Mideast booking hit fades

German travel group TUI said on Wednesday that bookings were returning toward normal levels despite the ongoing Mideast war, even as its quarterly profit fell 44.7% from a year earlier.

TUI reported net profit of 124.2 million euros, or $143.1 million, for the latest quarter. Its shares fell more than 3% in early Frankfurt trading after the results.

The company said booked revenue for the summer was down 6% from the same season last year, but bookings over the past four weeks had risen 7%. It also said interest was returning in Eastern Mediterranean destinations after months of geopolitical uncertainty.

“Business is coming back, it's normalising,” chief executive Sebastian Ebel said on an earnings call. “We have seen strong weeks.”

TUI said hotel occupancy was down 3% in the quarter to the end of June, an improvement from a 6% fall in the previous six months. In April, the company issued a profit warning after the Mideast war forced it to repatriate 10,000 travellers, including 5,000 people stuck on two cruise ships in the Gulf.

Asked whether European heatwaves and forest fires were affecting bookings, Ebel said TUI had not seen an impact so far. He said hotter summers could strengthen autumn and spring travel demand.