23 Dec 2020

Tourism company heads for higher losses than previously forecast

1:57 pm on 23 December 2020

Campervan and tour operator Tourism Holdings is heading for a significant loss.

Campervan, motorhome, RV, freedom camping.

Photo: Unsplash / Hanson Lu

The company, which has the Britz and Maui campervan brands and several tourist attractions including the Waitomo Caves, has been hard hit by the slump in international tourism and closed borders.

"While it is not currently possible to provide a credible forecast for the FY21 result, based on current expectations, the loss for FY21 is expected to be greater than the average of the results projected by market analysts," it said in a statement to the stock exchange.

It quoted average analysts' forecast for a loss of $12.8 million, but updated forecasts on financial news service Refinitiv was giving an average loss of about $15.5m.

"Based on trading in November and early December, domestic demand for travel in the late January to March period is now expected to be lower than originally anticipated."

It said its New Zealand businesses would be the hardest hit of its operations, even though the sale of campervans to reduce the size of its fleet had been strong.

Its US operation had seen stronger than expected rental revenue in November and early December, which was above the same time last year, and it was expected to deliver positive earnings this year.

Conditions in its Australian operation had improved with the opening of state borders, and vehicle sales had also grown, but the overall result was still expected to be a loss, although smaller than New Zealand.

Tourism Holdings made a slightly reduced profit of $27.4m for the year ended June, which included three months of closed borders.

In July, it said it would sell 30 percent of its global rental fleet to reduce further debt.

It had already reduced its stake in a joint venture in the US, raising about $10m which it has used to reduce debt.

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