Tunisia
Thousands of tourists booked their flights back from Tunisia after 38 people were killed in Sousse, 33 of which were TUI customers Reuters

German travel business TUI has taken a €10m (£7m, $11m) financial hit following the recent attack on a beach in Sousse, Tunisia.

Out of the 38 people killed by the terrorist attack by Islamic State affiliate Abu Yahya Qayrawani, 33 were travelling with the German tourism firm.

The financial turmoil which has unfolded in Greece has also hit the travel firm's bottom line.

Chief executives of TUI Group, Friedrich Joussen and Peter Long, said: "This quarter was marked by the tragic events in Tunisia at the end of June. Supporting our customers, their families and our colleagues through this sad time remains our highest priority.

"We are very proud of the commitment and dedication our colleagues have shown throughout this unprecedented situation. Recent weeks have also seen continued economic uncertainty in Greece. Within our business model there is an inherent assumption that we will face a level of disruption as a result of external events."

Since the attack in Sousse, TUI's share price has fallen by 8.5% as thousands of tourists booked emergency flights out of Tunisia after the attack, and the tourism sector in the country took a major hit.

In spite of events in Tunisia and Greece, tourism earnings growth was driven by Cruise, Hotels & Resorts and a strong performance by the UK. Hotelbeds Group has also delivered growth in earnings. TUI expects earnings before tax to rise between 12.5% and 15% in the full year.

The company announced a profit of €49.4m in the third quarter to 30 June, showing significant improvement as it was forced to report a €5.6m in the same months of 2014.

On a like-for-like basis, revenue climbed by 6% to €5.1bn in the third quarter, while TUI said it generated a revenue of €12m in the first nine months of the financial year.

Michael van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, commented: "Traders express relief that profits still managed to rise by double digits following horrifying terror attacks in Tunisia end-June which wiped €10m from earnings."

"Uncertainty remains over other favourite Greece, with performance hindered end-June and early July by painful bailout negotiations, a referendum and imposition of painful capital controls, however, investors cheered by news that recent weeks have seen a welcome improvement in bookings."

More about the beach attack in Tunisia

Tunisia