On the Beach said that it hoped to “capitalise on the inevitable structural changes in the market post Covid-19”, as it had done in the wake of the Thomas Cook collapse.
The comments came as the group reported a 66% drop in first-half revenue, to £21.4m.
The fall was attributed to Covid-19 related cancellations and a “significant reduction in demand from mid-February when Covid-19 began to spread to Europe”. Adjusting for the exceptional cancellations, first-half adjusted revenue of £52.8m was down 17%.
During April bookings were at c.10% of normal volumes as consumer appetite for booking holidays remained subdued, but from mid-June the company said that there had been a “significant increase” in demand for Summer 2020 departures, albeit from a very low base.
Simon Cooper, CEO, said: "In the aftermath of the Thomas Cook collapse, the group made excellent progress in the first four months of the financial year, driving record levels of brand awareness and achieving sales growth of almost 30% for holidays departing in Summer 2020. We also made significant progress against our strategic objectives in the year with Classic Package Holidays going live in over 2,600 agencies alongside the continued expansion of our long haul offering.
“On the Beach continues to successfully build a leading position as more consumers discover the ease of use and wide choice of beach holidays across our platforms. The flexibility and asset light nature of our business model together with our recently strengthened balance sheet and the actions we have taken since the middle of March means we are well placed to capitalise on the inevitable structural changes in the market post Covid-19. As a result, the Board continues to look to the future with confidence."