Sterling Holidays demerger may be completed by July 2027: Thomas Cook | Company News

Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited, a subsidiary of Thomas Cook (India) Limited (TCIL), is expected to complete its proposed demerger by July next year, with the transaction having already received clearances from the markets regulator and stock exchanges and now progressing through the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

“The proposal has been cleared by NSE, BSE and SEBI. We have already gone to NCLT. NCLT already had the first hearing, and we remain hopeful that very soon they will ask us to hold a shareholder meeting. From that timeline perspective, we are looking more like July 2027 by which the process may be completed,” Mahesh Iyer, managing director and chief executive officer of TCIL, told Business Standard.

Iyer said profits remained largely stable despite a difficult operating backdrop during the quarter ended September 30, including a period of rising airfares.

The performance was mainly supported by the India travel business and the foreign exchange segment, he added.

Looking ahead, the company plans to expand its distribution network, particularly in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, while continuing to invest in technology, cyber resilience and digital assets.

Iyer said travel preferences vary significantly across markets.

Travellers from tier-1 cities tend to prefer exotic and long-haul destinations such as Europe, the US, Africa and Australia.

Tier-2 and tier-3 markets, on the other hand, have a larger share of first-time travellers, who typically begin with domestic travel before moving to short-haul international destinations such as Dubai and Southeast Asia.

From a meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) perspective, Iyer said the current year had been a mixed one.

“While the corporate demand for MICE has remained strong, the conversation and conversions haven’t happened at the pace we would have expected,” he said.

Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan are gaining traction among travellers for winter travel, with the autumn months also seeing strong demand.

“We see more like a 30 per cent growth year-on-year, largely driven by the long-haul,” Iyer said.

Thomas Cook also operates the Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging (DEI) business, which Iyer expects to gain traction in the current quarter.

“October to December might be the biggest quarter in terms of the DEI segment, which remained subdued during the quarter largely due to half of the business taking place in the Middle East market,” he said.

The company announced its Q2FY27 results on Monday.

Net profit fell 24 per cent to ₹53.7 crore from ₹70.7 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), however, rose 3 per cent to ₹151.2 crore in Q2FY27 from ₹147 crore a year earlier.