Mark Warner plots return to profit as losses are slashed from £2.5m to £226k

By Sarah Bridge for The Mail on Sunday

Published: 07:17 EST, 5 August 2012 | Updated: 04:10 EST, 6 August 2012

Not enough snow, not enough sunshine – both can spell trouble for Mark Warner, which runs ski holidays as well as upmarket summer packages.

But the London-based operator has managed to reduce losses despite battling with bad weather.

Poor snow conditions in the 2010-11 winter had a ‘significant impact’ overall on the season, said the company’s directors.

However, a more positive note was sounded last summer, which was ‘considerably better’ than the previous year.

Turnover for the year to last October was a fraction down at £38.5 million, but pre-tax losses due to high costs and administrative expenses fell to £226,000 from £2.5 million.

If the trend continues, Mark Warner should be back in the black next year with a new reservations system, a hotel in Rhodes and special offers fuelling early bookings.

Directors said they remained ‘cautious’ about the outlook, but were confident they could match the number of flights and rooms they offered to customer demand.

Mark Warner was founded in 1974 by Mark Chitty and Andrew Searle with one ski chalet in Switzerland and has since grown handle 50,000 holidaymakers a year. It is particularly popular with families, offering tennis, water sports and childcare.