TUI AG expects higher profit in Germany after bookings surge - paper

BERLIN (Reuters) - Travel and tourism group TUI AG expects higher profit in its German home market in the current financial year ending in September after making strong gains in pre-Christmas holiday bookings, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported.

"The early-booking wave is reaching us sooner than in past years," TUI AG's Germany chief, Christian Clemens, was quoted by the newspaper as saying in an interview to be published on Monday.

Clemens saw higher profit after double-digit percent gains in vacation bookings in the two weeks before Christmas compared with year-ago levels, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said.

Earlier this month, TUI AG reported a 2 percent increase in underlying earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) for its total business in the 2012-13 year.

It said underlying EBITA should increase 6-12 percent in the current business year, while turnover would rise 2-4 percent from the 18.5 billion seen in 2012/13.

(Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Anthony Barker)