Thomas Cook India Limited delivered a resilient Q1 FY27 performance, with Financial Services and Leisure Hospitality growing amid regional pressures overall
Consolidated results were subdued largely due to the impact of the West Asia conflict on the Group’s GCC-based subsidiaries.
• Financial Services
- Revenue from Operations increased by 6% y-o-y for Q1 FY27, retail turnover grew by 8% y-o-y
- EBIT grew by 8% y-o-y, with EBIT margins at 45.3%
• Leisure Hospitality (Sterling Holidays & Nature Trails)
- Revenue from Operations grew by 19% y-o-y in Q1 FY27
- EBIT grew by 28% for Q1 FY27 & maintained with EBIT margins at 32.4% for Q1 FY27
• Travel Services
- Revenue from Operations from Thomas Cook, SOTC and TCI remained steady in Q1 FY27
• Consolidated Total Income for Q1 FY27 stood at Rs. 21,530 Mn, down by 12%
• Consolidated PBT for Q1 FY27 stood at Rs. 885 Mn, down by 21%
• Excluding the GCC-based subsidiaries (DEI & Desert Adventures) the Consolidated results of the Group registered a growth of 8% in EBIT for Q1 FY27
• The Group navigated the difficult period with a combination of timely repricing to manage input cost escalations, renegotiating with partners & prudent cost discipline.
• The Group continues to maintain a strong financial position, with Cash & short-term investments at Rs. 26,488 Mn as of June 30, 2026 vs Rs. 26,162 Mn as of March 31, 2026.
Commenting on the results, Mahesh Iyer – Managing Director & CEO, Thomas Cook (India) Limited, said, “The first quarter of FY27 was characterised by a highly volatile operating environment. The impact was particularly severe on our GCC-based subsidiaries – Digital Imaging (DEI) & Desert Adventures, which continue to be affected by the ongoing conflict in the region. The Group delivered a resilient performance for Q1 FY27 despite the challenging environment, with both Financial Services & Leisure Hospitality registering growth, while Thomas Cook, SOTC and TCI held steady despite strong headwinds in Travel Services.”
He continued, “The Group’s global operations remain strong, reflected by our EBIT growth of 8% excluding the specific GCC-based subsidiaries, impacted by the conflict. While the operating environment continues to remain dynamic, we are cautiously optimistic about the outlook for the remainder of the year. Our focus remains on prudent financial management, driving operational excellence through technology and innovation, and strengthening our customer focus to deliver sustainable growth and create long-term value for all our stakeholders.”
Revenue from Operations across all business segments
Business Segment-wise Performance
Foreign Exchange
- Forex business through digital touchpoints:
- WhatsApp: Transactions grew over 84% y-o-y, with 1026+ in Q1 FY27 vs 559 in Q1 FY26
- App bookings: 3x growth y-o-y in Q1 FY27 with +840 transactions vs 223 in Q1 FY26
- Website bookings: 38% y-o-y in Q1 FY27 with +1200 transactions vs 866 in Q1 FY26
- Video KYC: Transactions grew 9x y-o-y in Q1 FY27 with +1500 transactions vs 160 in Q1 FY26
- Digital adoption (DFC + FX Mate) is at 23.5% y-o-y in Q1 FY27 vs 21.6% in Q1 FY26
- Retail: Operationalized retail counters at Delhi Airport T2 in June and T1 in July 2026, while closing branches in Guwahati, Jaipur, and Margao as part of the retail network optimization during the quarter.
- Expanded the prepaid Forex Card portfolio to 28 currencies with the addition of 16 new global currencies.
Travel Services
- Corporate Travel
- Secured new corporate travel mandates across the financial services, automobile, IT, insurance and education sectors, adding seven new client accounts during Q1 FY27
- Total Air and Non-Air volumes grew by 13.4% y-o-y in Q1 FY27, reflecting sustained momentum across corporate travel segments
- Air volumes recorded growth of 14.4% y-o-y during Q1 FY27
- Domestic Air volumes increased by 10.9% y-o-y, driven by continued growth in business travel demand across India
- International Air volumes grew by 16.7% y-o-y, underlining strong demand for cross-border corporate travel
- Hotel volumes increased by 33.7% y-o-y, making accommodation one of the fastest-growing segments within the Company’s corporate travel portfolio
- Hotel transactions grew by 16.2% y-o-y, reflecting increasing adoption of managed accommodation programs by corporate clients
- Following its launch in Q4 FY26, Thomas Cook India’s integrated hotel platform, Lodging One, continued to enhance hotel content, accommodation choice and booking capabilities for corporate travellers
- Non-Air volumes and transactions recorded q-o-q growth of 5.2% and 3.7% respectively, demonstrating continued expansion of the Company’s diversified travel services portfolio
- Car rental volumes and transactions grew by 28.2% and 25.4% respectively q-o-q, reflecting growing demand for end-to-end travel management solutions beyond air travel
- Meetings-Incentives-Conferences-Exhibitions (MICE)
- Managed over 110 groups ranging from 50 to 2400 delegates per group. Key international destinations: Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam; Domestic: Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Shimla, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Amritsar
- Leisure Travel
- Despite geopolitical disruptions, short-haul destinations performed well, with travellers pivoting from long-haul west-bound markets to Japan, Vietnam and China
- India and the Indian Subcontinent remained key travel choices, with Himachal Pradesh, the North East, Kashmir, Kailash Mansarovar, Sri Lanka and Bhutan continuing to attract travellers
- Destination Management Services (DMS) Network:
India DMS: Revenue from Operations at 0.2% growth for Q1 FY27 despite cancellations due to the Israel-Iran War
Overseas DMS: Revenue declined by 33% y-o-y in Q1 FY27, primarily due to the continued impact of geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East, which significantly affected Desert Adventures. Performance was further impacted by softer U.S. inbound tourism affecting Allied T Pro, while stable performance at Asian Trails and continued growth across the Private Safaris businesses in East and Southern Africa provided a partial offset.
- Asia Pacific – Asian Trails: Revenue remained broadly stable, supported by strong growth in the China operations and improved contributions from Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore, despite continued geopolitical uncertainties affecting certain regional markets
- USA – Allied T Pro: Performance was impacted by continued softness in U.S. inbound tourism amid weaker overseas visitor arrivals and geopolitical uncertainties, along with the absence of large one-off MICE movements in the current period
- Middle East – Desert Adventures: The quarter’s results continued to be materially impacted by geopolitical developments in the Middle East, exerting sustained pressure on travel demand. The business maintained a strong focus on cost optimization while preserving operational readiness to support the anticipated recovery in demand
- Private Safaris:
- Southern Africa: Revenue grew by 17% y-o-y, supported by resilient inbound travel demand and improved margins through strategic upselling initiatives and supplier negotiations, despite elevated airfares and airline capacity constraints
- East Africa: Revenue grew by 4% y-o-y, supported by sustained demand from key source markets, including the USA, Europe and India, while improved margins contributed to overall performance
Leisure Hospitality (Sterling Holidays & Nature Trails)
- Best-ever quarter in Sterling’s history, delivering record performance across revenue, profitability, occupancy, pricing and cash generation
- Revenue from Operations reached a record Rs.1,614 Mn, driven by strong growth in room revenues, higher occupancy and sustained pricing power
- EBITDA of Rs. 637 Mn with industry-leading 37% margins, while EBIT increased 28% with a margin expansion of 230 bps
- Resort network expanded to 78 properties with 3,798 rooms, making Sterling one of the fastest-growing listed hospitality companies in India
- ARR improved by 9% y-o-y in Q1 FY27 to Rs.7,809
- Continued to strengthen the balance sheet with Rs. 3,737 Mn cash reserves, while remaining a zero-debt, net cash-positive company
- Customer experience continued to rank among the best in the industry, with an NPS exceeding 81 and an improved TripAdvisor rating of 4.60. Further reinforcing its leadership, Sterling Kanha became the only resort in India to receive TripAdvisor’s “Best of the Best” Award for four consecutive years.
Nature Trails: Relaunched Nature Trails Kundalika Retreat
Digital Imaging Solutions (DEI)
- Middle East operations (~ 50% of the portfolio) continued to be impacted by the ongoing geopolitical situation, with several attractions remaining closed and others witnessing subdued footfalls. Alongside a lower contribution from China, this resulted in a year-on-year decline in sales, partially offset by healthy growth across Hong Kong, Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
- The business remains focused on preserving operational readiness while implementing targeted cost optimization initiatives. Site rationalization, including the closure of select non-profitable locations, together with optimization of commercial arrangements, personnel costs and operating overheads, strengthened operational efficiency and cost discipline.
- 3 new partnerships signed in Q1 FY27: Indonesia (Cimory Dairyland Farm Puncak, Omma Day Club Bali) and China (Shanghai Ocean Aquarium)
- Renewed 11 key partnerships: UAE (Snow Reem AD/Snow AUH, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque 360, Modesh World, Le Meridien), Singapore (Singapore Oceanarium including the Marine Mammal Habitat, Adventure Cove Water Park, Universal Studios Singapore), Indonesia (Bali Bird Park, Waterbom Bali) and Oman (Oman Aquarium)
- Operational launch of 5 partnerships: India (Wet N Joy Shirdi, Wet N Joy Lonavala, Sai Teerth Shirdi) and Indonesia (Cimory Dairyland Farm Puncak, Omma Day Club Bali)
Other Key Business Updates
Focus on Digitalization
- Pathfndr – AI-powered Dynamic Holiday Packaging Platform: Further enhanced Pathfndr, our AI-powered holiday packaging platform, enabling sellers to create personalized travel itineraries and dynamic holiday packages in minutes. Reintroduced the Pathfndr CoPilot Generative AI chatbot based on seller demand, launched adhoc activities (online and offline), expanded hotel inventory with new suppliers (TBO and TravelBullz), strengthened transfer capabilities through MOZIO, Intui, Talixo, GRNconnect and Savaari, and simplified ferry bookings via Direct Ferries, offering seamless connectivity to island destinations across Thailand, Indonesia, Greece, Italy and more.
- Voice Bot: Enhanced the AI-powered conversational voice bot to handle customer queries, capture leads and provide seamless support during and beyond business hours, significantly reducing abandoned calls. Expanded capabilities to include outbound calling for SOTC.
- Agent Assist: Rolled out an AI-powered real-time sales co-pilot across Thomas Cook India and SOTC Retail Sales, providing live recommendations, prompts and next-best actions to improve sales effectiveness and customer interactions
- QC Bot (Call Audit): Expanded the AI-powered call quality monitoring solution with support for follow-up call audits in the Contact Centre, enabling automated compliance monitoring, performance evaluation and targeted coaching for retail sales teams
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