Travel specialist Holidaybreak today said it was on track to meet expectations for the year as school trip bookings remained resilient.
The firm, which offers adventure, education and hotel breaks, also said strong later bookings in its camping division had come through as forecast.
Executive chairman John Coleman said: “The financial year has progressed broadly as expected and we anticipate meeting management expectations for the full year.”
Education, its biggest division, was said to have continued to perform well, with like-for-like sales up 7% in the 12 months to September 30 and visibility for next year providing “a healthy outlook”.
“Whilst performance in the education division should prove resilient, the group remains focused on cash generation and cost control across its businesses in expectation of continued challenging trading conditions,” the firm said.
The firm is expanding its education division following the completion of a £33.2m rights issue in July.
Today it said it had recently bought a 150-acre site at Liddington, Wiltshire.
The former hotel and conference centre is due to be opened next year as a PGL outdoor education centre on the site.
Holidaybreak’s education arm, which runs outdoor trips and cultural tours under the PGL and NST brands, is 62% booked for next year. Bookings for PGL education centres are at 87%.
Holidaybreak said sales growth for next year was at 4%, a decline from the 6% reported in July, as booking confirmations slowed over the summer holiday period.
“As teachers return to work and bookings are confirmed, we are seeing growth returning to the levels seen earlier this year,” the firm said.
In its camping division, Holidaybreak saw strong last minute bookings, with sales up 2% but down 3% at constant currency rates.
Capacity was down 4% on last year and bookings for 2010 are down, but in line with expectations.
Hotel break sales were reported to be down 2% – an improvement from earlier in the year - as lower room rates and train fares helped bolster demand.
The firm said that while it had seen lower transaction values in this division, booking volumes had improved.
In its adventure arm, Holidaybreak said revenues were currently down 20% for 2010, while the current financial year was down 3% after a boost from late bookings in its Dutch business.
The previously announced restructuring of the division is progressing as planned and the firm warned conditions in the adventure market would remain difficult for at least the next 12 months.
Holidaybreak said the process to find a replacement for its outgoing chief executive Carl Michel was continuing.
Mr Michel is set to step down on September 30 after deciding to leave for “personal reasons unconnected with the business”.
Douglas Jack of Numis Securities said the Holidaybreak numbers were “slightly ahead of expectations” and had prompted an update in his forecasts.
He said: “60% of earnings derive from the resilient education and camping divisions; of the balance, we believe the upside in hotel breaks exceeds the downside in adventure, in addition to which there could be further acquisitions.”
