Club Med Says Q1 Sales Rise, Upbeat on Summer

French holiday operator Club Mediterranee (CMIP.PA) posted a 6 percent rise in revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2011/12, thanks to more bookings for its upmarket vacation villages, and said summer 2012 sales were off to an encouraging start.

The comments on the summer season contrast with the cautious outlook for 2012 the company gave in December.

Revenue reached 358 million euros ($469.68 million) in the quarter ended January 31 and was up 6.1 percent at constant exchange rates compared with the year-ago period, Club Med said in a statement on Monday.

"First-quarter 2012 saw a further increase in business and customer gains in the upmarket 4-5 Trident segment despite a downturn in the economic and tourism environment in Europe," Chief Executive Henri Giscard d'Estaing said.

Winter bookings for 2011/2012 were up 3.7 percent as at March 3, bolstered by Europe and the United States, and were 7.3 percent higher in the past eight weeks.

Club Med, which has recast itself as a higher-end holiday group, operates 75 resorts in 40 countries, ranging from Caribbean beach villages to Alpine ski locations.

The French company added that Chinese investor Fosun (0656.HK), which owns 9.7 percent of the capital of Club Med, had agreed not to increase its holding beyond 10 percent until next year's annual shareholder meeting, provided no other owner exceeded 10 percent.