Holiday firm On The Beach has slumped to a £9.5million underlying half-year loss after seeing revenues crash 77 per cent because of continuing Covid travel restrictions.
The travel group said revenues plunged to £12m in the six months to March 31, from £52.8m a year earlier, due to cancellations and lower bookings during lockdown.
This saw it swing into the red from underlying pre-tax profits of £2.3m a year earlier.
The firm decided not to sell new holidays before September 1 because of disruption amid the traffic light system and the potential for cancellations, instead focusing on selling breaks for future seasons.
It said booking volumes for summer 2022 remain low, but are “significantly ahead of normal trading patterns, partially due to the early release of flights for next year by most major airlines”.
Simon Cooper, chief executive of On the Beach Group, said: “The board believes that On The Beach is well-positioned to grow market share as demand for holidays recovers.
“Whilst this recovery is likely to take some time and the consumer environment will continue to be challenging, the differentiating features of our business model, combined with the actions taken during the pandemic, position us very strongly for successful and sustained growth as we move out of this extended period of disruption.”
