Travel agent Flight Centre has announced the closure of 100 stores across the country due to the impact on business from the coronavirus pandemic.
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The announcement to close the under-performing stores was made in a statement to the ASX today.
Details regarding whether employees will lose their jobs or which stores are going to be closed are yet to be announced.
There is no confirmation regarding the closure of the Goulburn store at this stage.
"Up to 100 under-performing leisure shops to close in Australia - looking to transfer TTV and sales staff to other shops, while also continuing to invest in new and emerging models," the Flight Centre statement said.
"Total transaction value (TTV) trends generally in line with expectations in early 2H trading but virus's spread and increased travel restrictions mean demand is softening significantly and the timeframe for recovery is unclear."
The company further said that it has "a solid balance sheet, with $1.3 billion in total cash and investments and $189 million positive net debt position at February 29".
Graham Turner, managing director of the company, said that while the outlook and the timeframe for the recovery is unclear, FLT was well placed to overcome challenges.
"The company would draw on its experiences with SARS in 2003 and during the Global Financial Crisis in 2009 by seeking to stimulate demand, while also implementing sensible cost reduction strategies to maintain its balance sheet strength," Mr Turner said.
"While people are still booking travel in February, our TTV actually increased slightly globally compared to the same month last year - we are now seeing significant softening and expect this to continue into April at least.
"Within this uncertain environment, our priorities are to reduce costs, while also ensuring that we and our people are ready to capitalise when the steep discounting that is underway across most travel categories starts to gain traction and as the trading cycle rebounds.
"As we saw with both SARS and the GFC in Australia, the rebound can be relatively fast and strong after a fairly significant downturn in international travel."
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