Troubled holiday firm Thomas Cook on Wednesday posted widening quarterly losses due to the weak global economy, restructuring charges, higher fuel costs and ongoing turmoil in North Africa.
Europe's second biggest travel firm, which came close to collapse last November when dire trading forced it to request a vital credit line from banks, added that it was seeking to sell its Indian operations.
Thomas Cook said that operational losses stood at £91 million ($144 million, 109 million euros) in the first quarter of the group's financial year, or three months to December.
That compared with a loss of £37 million in the same period of the previous fiscal year. Pre-tax losses stood at £151.7 million, compared with a shortfall of £99.3 million last time around.
It posted losses despite the group's revenue climbing 3.0 percent to £1.861 billion on increased activity in northern Europe.
"As expected, the seasonal underlying loss from operations of £91 million was higher than the prior year as a result of tougher trading conditions and rising fuel costs which have impacted margins," the group said.
"In particular, the West & East Europe segment reported significantly increased losses in part because of ongoing disruption in the Middle East and North Africa."
Thomas Cook added that it has launched a formal sale process for its majority 77.1 per cent shareholding in Thomas Cook (India) Limited (TCIL) after receiving a "number" of informal approaches.
Thomas Cook, which has 1,300 shops, said it was progressing with its turnaround plan that includes focusing on fewer and better quality hotels and more online bookings.
The company is meanwhile seeking to sell £200 million of assets over the next 18 months as it seeks to slash debt.