North West holiday business On the Beach has said its full-year pre-tax profit is at “breakeven levels”.
In a trading update for the full-year to September 30, ahead of its results, the group said it had “varied trading performance” through the third and fourth quarter.
The group saw cancellation rates in excess of 90 per cent across the summer, with these levels expected to continue over the winter.
The group expects exceptional costs to hit £45m for the full year, as it reports a further £10m in the second half.
Simon Cooper, On the Beach Group chief executive, said: “It is clear now that the full impact of Covid-19 will be every bit as extreme as any of us could have mapped out at the beginning of the year.
“Following the overwhelming support we received from our shareholders in May, combined with our ring-fencing of customer prepayments, we are in a strong and debt-free financial position.
“The board is confident about the group’s long term strategy and we will continue to look at the increasing number of exciting opportunities to grow our market share both in the UK and internationally.”
The group said it has made a total of £160m in cash refunds since March 15 - £70m from hotels and transfers and £90m for flights.
“The board continues to believe that the strength of OTB’s balance sheet and flexible business model means the business is well-positioned to sustain further significant disruption and to grow market share as demand for holidays recovers,” the group said.
