It is worth remembering how the bulk of the loss arose. Essentially Thomas Cook massively overpaid for MyTravel back in 2007 and they have been clinging to the illusion for years in the accounts that the Mytravel business really was a good deal and worth all that money. Thomas Cook have now finally admitted in their accounts how much MyTravel is really worth now (and how much they overpaid) - and their profit statement shows that difference. Put simply they are paying now for the financial sins of a previous CEO
The admission of having drastically overpaid in 2007 had to appear in the accounts at some point in time - and it was going to be painful whenever it occurred. I suspect the can has been kicked down the road by the Thomas Cook CEO for a long long time and that it's only audit rules which have forced this admission
Thomas Cook need to be much more active in explaining the scale of this loss and that it is a one-off to both the public and the press if consumer confidence is to return. Crisis management
PR is desperately needed here