LONDON — The recent turnaround story at Thomas Cook Group plc (LON:TCG) has been pretty spectacular. The shares crashed in 2011 from 2 pounds to 15 pence, and the press was filled with stories speculating on whether the company would go under.
Today, after the company issued its latest half-year results and unveiled a 1.6 billion pound refinancing plan, the shares jumped a further 9% to 157 pence.
Overladen with debt
The story of how Thomas Cook Group plc (LON:TCG) got into trouble in the first place is, sadly, a familiar one. Before the financial crisis, it was trigger-happy on the acquisition front. Consequently, it was far too indebted to cope with any significant downturn in its business.
Despite a number of disposals, the company still had net debt of 1.2 billion pounds as of March 31, 2012. Today’s refinancing plan sees this reduced by raising 400 million pounds from investors and reorganizing its borrowings so they do not have to be repaid as quickly.
On the equity front, 120 million pounds is being raised by a placing of new shares at 137 pence, but the bulk of the money will come from existing shareholders, who can subscribe for a “two for five” rights issue at 76 pence. Turning to debt, 500 million euros will be raised from bonds that mature in 2020, with the balance coming from a new revolving loan and bonding facilities expiring in either 2015 or 2017.
Trading improving
Of course, there is little point refinancing your company if underlying trading is not improving. Thomas Cook Group plc (LON:TCG)’s half-year results show some decent progress on that front. Underlying profit improved by 60 million pounds, with gross margins increasing by just more than a percentage point. Free cash flow came in nearly 200 million pounds higher, thanks to better working-capital management.
Despite this, the company still posted a 300 million pound loss for the period on 3.2 billion pounds of sales. With two-thirds of Thomas Cook Group plc (LON:TCG)’s revenue coming in the second half of its financial year, this is an exceptionally seasonal business. Summer bookings are running just ahead of last year, though, despite a capacity reduction of 7%. Selling prices are up 4% in the U.K. and 1% in Continental Europe. Thomas Cook Group plc (LON:TCG) says it has sold 60% of its capacity for this summer, 2 percentage points ahead of where it was last year, and this should bode well for selling prices for the remainder of the season.
The rights issue and placing will add about 500 million new shares to the 900 million already trading, meaning the company should be valued at about 2 billion pounds once the shares begin trading “ex rights” in early June. With just more than 100 million pounds in post-tax profits forecast for the year to September 2014, that looks rather pricey, but you would expect to see further improvement in profit margins going forward.
The article Thomas Cook Group Soars on Refinancing Plan originally appeared on Fool.com.
Stuart Watson has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.
Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
