Operating profit at MyTravel Group rose more than fourfold in the past year despite higher fuel costs as the group benefited from consumers' appetite for exotic holidays.
The British holiday firm's full-year group operating profit rose to £55.2 million sterling, up from last year's proforma £12.9 million. The increase was despite higher fuel costs which hit operating profit by at least £47.3 million.
MyTravel, formerly called Airtours, has a number of branches in Ireland and operates the justflights.ie and directholidays.ie websites.
MyTravel said its turnaround strategy was on course, driven by the increasing popularity of holidays in North Africa, Cuba and Brazil.
At the pretax level, MyTravel made a loss of £18.3 million, after charges partly relating to Going Places store closures, down from a proforma loss of £153.4 million.
The group said it had achieved record profit in northern Europe but that its North America business had been affected by hurricane Wilma, which had a significant impact on its Mexico programme.
"We have made strong progress this year. Without the impact of fuel, we would have been a year ahead of our turnaround targets. All in all it has been a good year for MyTravel," chief executive Peter McHugh said.