Sales for the year ended 2 January fell 5.9% to £246m from £262m.
There was some good news, however, with sales for The Co-operative Travel’s e-commerce division growing 22% ahead of budget and over 200% ahead of the prior year.
The company is making further investment in new applications for 2010.
Last year also saw the introduction of The Co-operative Travel’s tour operation, in partnership with Cosmos, and the continued growth of in-house dynamically packaged beach holidays via Escape.
Greenacre said: ‘While this year’s results are clearly not as favourable as last year, and below our earlier expectations, it is a testament to the dedication and commitment of everyone at The Co-operative Travel that we have remained profitable in this torrid year.
‘Our retail network continues to outperform the market, and The Freedom Travel Group – our independent member consortia – has seen significant growth under the guidance of managing director Jane Atkins.
‘However, there are some significant events this year that can and will impact on performance, not least the continued uncertainty within the economy, the forthcoming general election, and the inevitable effect the World Cup will have on bookings.
‘But as with previous years, we have made some difficult decisions during 2009 and continued to streamline operations and invest in the business to keep us on track, all of which will put us in the best possible position to emerge from the recession and tackle the challenges ahead.’
Greenacre concluded that the group was ‘well positioned…to be back on track with our three-year plan by 2012’.
See also:
High street alive and well, says The Co-operative Travel (09/02/2010)
The Co-operative Travel's H1 profits fall £5.4m (14/10/2009)
Investment pays off for The Co-operative Travel (18/08/2009)
Atkins adds Future to Freedom role (24/06/2009)
Greenacre’s ‘difficult decisions’ pay off [FY08] (06/05/2009)
The Co-operative Travel teams up with Cosmos (16/02/2009)