British package holiday firm MyTravel today reported annual losses of more than £900 million sterling but said it expected to return to profitability in 2005 and its stock jumped.
"We are confident that we will continue to operate and that we will be successful in the turnaround," chief executive Mr Peter McHugh told BBC Radio 4.
"We have cash to make it through the winter, we have a turnaround plan that we expect to bring us back to profitability by 2005 [and] even though the numbers are dreadful, they are optimistic at this point," he said.
The company, formerly known as Airtours, is selling assets to raise money as it strives to recover from a series of profit warnings and accounting errors which have sent its shares into freefall. The shares rose 20 per cent higher to 11 pence in early trade today.
MyTravel said bookings for winter 2003/04 were in line with its expectations but bookings for summer 2004 were down on the previous year.
Despite a fleet of 56 planes and some 10.5 million holidaymakers using its service, MyTravel reported a pre tax loss on ordinary activities for the year ended September 30th of £910.9 million after a £72.8 million loss the previous year. Analysts had been expecting a loss of about £600 million.
The heavily indebted tour operator said it had refinanced its £1.3 billion debt to May 2006 and extended £221.6 million of convertible bonds to January 2007.