Thomas Cook CDS hits record high on growing debt worries; shares sink

Reuters

Published Dec 04, 2018 05:40AM ET

Thomas Cook CDS hits record high on growing debt worries; shares sink

LONDON (Reuters) - The cost of insuring debt issued by Thomas Cook (L:TCG) against default hit a record high and its corporate debt tumbled on Tuesday as worries about the travel operator's debt deepened following its second profit warning in as many months last week.

The company's five-year credit default swap jumped 73 basis points from Monday's close to 1,071 basis points, IHS Markit data showed.

The price of the company's 2022 euro-denominated bonds tumbled more than 11 cents to a record low of 71.371 cents, according to Tradeweb.

Shares in the oldest travel company in the world have lost 60 percent of their value in the past week after the holiday operator cut profit guidance and suspended its dividend as the heatwave that swept northern Europe this summer deterred people from going on holiday.

They were the biggest faller on the FTSE 250 on Tuesday, down another 14 percent at six-year lows.