Thomas Cook (India) Limited received a reaffirmation of its CRISIL AA/Stable and CRISIL A1+ credit ratings on Wednesday, marking the highest rating assigned to any travel and tourism company in India. According to reports from The Hindu BusinessLine, the company's shares surged 6.33% on the NSE to ₹95.52, closing at ₹95.78, up ₹5.95 from the previous close of ₹89.83. The rating reaffirmation covers total bank loan facilities of ₹433 crore and reflects the company's strong market position and robust parent support from Fairfax Financial Holdings, which holds a 63.83% stake through Fairbridge Capital (Mauritius) Limited.
Financially, the group reported revenue of ₹6,628 crore in the first nine months of FY26, representing a 7.4% year-on-year increase from ₹6,171 crore in the previous year. As reported by ScanXNews, the travel segment accounts for over 75% of total revenues, with key growth areas including destination management services, outbound leisure, MICE and corporate travel. However, operating margins declined by approximately 40 basis points to 6.8% due to macro and geopolitical disruptions during May and June 2025, excessive rainfall and landslides across northern India, and headwinds from protests in Nepal. The company maintained strong financial position with cash and bank balances of approximately ₹2,346 crore as of February 2026, while maintaining gearing at a low 0.34x with an adjusted gearing ratio of 0.34 times and tangible networth of ₹1,533 crore against total debt of ₹508 crore.
CRISIL flagged a planned restructuring — the demerger of the resorts and resort management business into Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited — which could moderate consolidated revenues post-completion. According to ScanXNews, post-demerger, consolidated revenue and EBIT are expected to be lower by 5-8% and 20-30% respectively. The rating agency does not expect a material impact on the group's overall credit profile, with the rating covering Thomas Cook India's subsidiaries including Sterling Holiday Resorts, SOTC Travel, TC Tours, Travel Corporation India and several international entities.
Thomas Cook India maintains a dominant market position, particularly in the foreign exchange prepaid card segment with approximately one-third market share, as highlighted by CRISIL. The company benefits from strong support from its parent, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, which holds strategic importance for the group's operations in India. Despite operational challenges, CRISIL noted that the company's financial risk profile remains comfortable with healthy capital structure metrics. The rating agency maintained a stable outlook, expecting the company to continue benefiting from travel demand recovery and its strong market position across travel, forex, and photo imaging segments, with the company's fund-based bank limit utilization remaining at approximately 6% over the six months through February 2026.
