Competing market conditions notwithstanding, Tui upgrades its earnings estimate
In a significant development, travel giant TUI has announced its financial results for the third quarter of the current financial year, revealing a record-breaking quarterly profit. The company's adjusted operating profit (EBIT) has surged by 38% to €321 million, marking the highest quarterly profit in TUI's history.
The growth can be largely attributed to the outstanding performance of TUI's Holiday Experiences segment, which includes cruises and hotels. In Q3 2025, the cruise division delivered a record adjusted EBIT of €143 million, a 57% increase over the previous year, driven by high demand and fleet utilization. Hotels & Resorts maintained a strong adjusted EBIT of €131 million with an 82% capacity utilization rate.
The record results from TUI's hotels and cruise ships have positively influenced the overall financial performance. The cruise division's exceptional growth and the hotels' solid profitability have been the main growth drivers in recent quarters.
However, the tour operator business is facing some challenges. There is a trend toward late bookings, particularly for the summer months, influenced by factors such as hot weather in source markets. This trend can affect demand patterns and seasonality. Additionally, the Markets + Airline segment faces higher emissions costs, increasing operational expenses and pressure on margins despite demand for dynamically packaged holidays.
To address these challenges, TUI is strategically shifting from exclusive leasing toward owning some of its aircraft to gain more financial flexibility and reduce costs in the long term. This move aims to address inefficiencies in fleet financing.
Despite the challenges, TUI remains optimistic about its future. The manager has maintained his annual forecast, expecting a later increase in demand and higher travel prices to contribute to the planned increase in revenue and operating profit. TUI's adjusted EBIT is expected to grow by 9 to 11 percent in currency-adjusted terms for the current financial year.
In May, TUI reported that people were booking their summer holidays later than usual due to the late Easter holidays. However, winter bookings show early positive signs, indicating a promising future for TUI.
The company still plans to publish details of its business performance and answer questions from analysts and journalists on the day scheduled for the release of its figures for the first three quarters, which were originally scheduled for this Wednesday. Tui's revenue for the first three quarters of the current financial year is €14.8 billion, an increase of 1 billion compared to the previous year. The adjusted operating profit for the same period is €165 million, an increase of 115 million compared to the same period last year.
At constant exchange rates, TUI's revenue for the first three quarters of the current financial year would have been €14.7 billion, and adjusted operating profit would have been €199 million.
[1] TUI Group AG, Press Release, Q3 2025 Financial Results, www.tui.com/investors [2] TUI Group AG, Annual Report 2023/2024, www.tui.com/investors [3] TUI Group AG, Sustainability Report 2024, www.tui.com/sustainability [4] TUI Group AG, Fleet Strategy Update, www.tui.com/investors [5] TUI Group AG, Trading Update, May 2025, www.tui.com/investors
TUI's strategic shift towards owning some aircraft instead of exclusive leasing is aimed at gaining financial flexibility and reducing costs in the long term, particularly in the tour operator business. The strong financial performance of TUI's Holiday Experiences segment, specifically the cruise division and hotels, has driven the company's record-breaking profit in Q3 2025, despite challenges such as late bookings and higher emissions costs in the Markets + Airline segment.
