Thomas Cook education forex turnover rises 33% in Q2 FY27

Thomas Cook’s education forex turnover rose 33% year on year to Rs 1,430 crore in the second quarter (Q2) of financial year (FY) 2027, making it the largest disclosed customer cohort and helping total forex turnover increase 7% to Rs 3,890 crore despite lower holiday turnover and prepaid-card activity.

How did Thomas Cook’s forex customer mix change in Q2 FY27?

Thomas Cook’s forex customer mix shifted towards education in Q2 FY27, with education turnover increasing by Rs 360 crore from Rs 1,070 crore in Q2 FY26 to Rs 1,430 crore. Corporate turnover rose by Rs 70 crore to Rs 720 crore, while holiday turnover declined by Rs 30 crore to Rs 450 crore.

Education turnover was more than three times holiday turnover in the quarter and exceeded corporate turnover by Rs 710 crore, based on the disclosed figures. Thomas Cook did not disclose customer numbers, average transaction values or destination-level data for education, corporate or holiday transactions.

The customer-cohort figures represent turnover generated through Thomas Cook’s own network and exclude third-party sales. They are therefore not a complete breakdown of the Rs 3,890 crore total forex turnover, which consisted of Rs 3,030 crore of retail turnover and Rs 860 crore of wholesale turnover.

What drove Thomas Cook’s total forex turnover growth?

Thomas Cook’s total forex turnover increased 7% to Rs 3,890 crore in Q2 FY27 from Rs 3,630 crore in Q2 FY26, as retail turnover rose by Rs 320 crore. Retail turnover reached Rs 3,030 crore from Rs 2,710 crore, while wholesale turnover fell by Rs 60 crore from Rs 920 crore to Rs 860 crore.

The Q2 FY27 total was also Rs 590 crore higher than the Rs 3,300 crore reported in Q1 FY27. Retail turnover rose by Rs 600 crore sequentially from Rs 2,430 crore, whereas wholesale turnover was Rs 10 crore lower than the Rs 870 crore recorded in Q1 FY27.

For the first half (H1) of FY27, gross turnover was Rs 7,200 crore, up 4% from Rs 6,900 crore in H1 FY26. Retail turnover increased to Rs 5,500 crore from Rs 5,000 crore, more than offsetting a fall in wholesale turnover to Rs 1,700 crore from Rs 2,000 crore.

Thomas Cook reports Financial Services revenue on a net basis, separately from gross forex turnover. Financial Services revenue rose 21% to Rs 102.5 crore in Q2 FY27, while earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose 10% to Rs 45.2 crore; its EBIT margin declined to 44.1% from 48.7% a year earlier.

What happened to Thomas Cook’s prepaid-card activity?

Thomas Cook’s prepaid-card activity declined in Q2 FY27, with card loads falling 3% to US$202 million and active card users falling 9% to 1.1 million. In Q2 FY26, card loads were US$209 million and active users were 1.2 million.

Card float nevertheless rose 11% to Rs 1,890 crore from Rs 1,700 crore in the year-earlier quarter. Thomas Cook reported the higher float alongside lower loads and user numbers, but did not provide an explanation for the difference between these measures.

The H1 trend was also lower for card loads, which fell 4% to US$427 million from US$446 million in H1 FY26. Over the full-year comparison, card loads had already declined from US$860 million in FY25 to US$764 million in FY26, while active users declined from 1.3 million to 1.2 million.

Is Thomas Cook increasing digital forex use?

Thomas Cook increased total digital adoption to 22.4% in Q2 FY27 from 21.5% in Q2 FY26, a rise of 97 basis points. Video know-your-customer (Video-KYC) transactions rose 28 times to 5,191 from 186, while app bookings increased four times to 939 from 236.

The channel trends were mixed outside Video-KYC and the app. WhatsApp forex transactions increased 3% to 798 from 774, but website transactions fell 1% to 1,013 from 1,022.

Thomas Cook sold 1,727 prepaid cards through Blinkit, compared with 880 in Q4 calendar year 2025, a 96% increase. The company uses Q4 calendar year 2025 as the comparison period because the Blinkit prepaid card was launched in October 2025.

Thomas Cook also changed its physical distribution network during Q2 FY27, operationalising retail counters at Angamaly, Cochin and Hubli and closing branches in Thiruvananthapuram. The presentation describes these actions as retail-network optimisation and does not provide a post-change Financial Services branch or counter total.

How did forex contribute to Thomas Cook’s Financial Services results?

Thomas Cook’s Financial Services revenue increased 21% to Rs 102.5 crore in Q2 FY27 from Rs 84.5 crore in Q2 FY26, while EBIT increased to Rs 45.2 crore from Rs 41.1 crore. Management said education and corporate segments contributed well to Financial Services revenue growth in H1 FY27.

For H1 FY27, Financial Services revenue rose 14% to Rs 191.8 crore from Rs 168.7 crore, and EBIT increased 9% to Rs 85.6 crore from Rs 78.5 crore. The H1 EBIT margin was 44.7%, compared with 46.5% in H1 FY26.

Financial Services was one of two major segments reporting 21% revenue growth in Q2 FY27, alongside Leisure Hospitality and Resorts, which generated Rs 125.9 crore. Travel and Related Services revenue declined 7% to Rs 1,568.3 crore and Digital Imaging Solutions revenue fell 25% to Rs 147.4 crore.

Thomas Cook’s India-led businesses accounted for 57% of group revenue in Q2 FY27, up from 54% in Q2 FY26. India-led revenue was Rs 1,137.5 crore, down 1% year on year, while international business revenue declined 11% to Rs 872.8 crore.

Conclusion

Thomas Cook’s Q2 FY27 forex results show that education and corporate demand increased while holiday turnover, wholesale turnover and prepaid-card measures declined. The Rs 360 crore rise in education turnover supported retail-led growth in total forex turnover and coincided with a 21% increase in Financial Services revenue, although the segment’s EBIT margin was lower than a year earlier.

The next disclosed developments to watch are the effects of retail-network optimisation, including the three new counters and Thiruvananthapuram closures, and whether digital adoption builds on the 22.4% Q2 FY27 level. Thomas Cook has not provided a future forex-turnover target or a forecast for prepaid-card loads and active users.