Thomas Cook trimmed losses in its first quarter as deep cost-cutting offset a fall in sales caused by political turmoil in Egypt, the British travel group said on Tuesday. Losses before interest payments and tax narrowed to £56 million ($92 million, 67 million euros) in the three months to the end of December last year, the company said in a statement. That marked a modest improvement from a loss of £66 million in the equivalent period of 2012. Total sales eased 0.9 percent to £1.7 billion in the reporting period. "The whole European travel industry was hit by the decline in the Egypt market and we were no exception," chief executive Harriet Green said in a conference call with journalists. "We are very encouraged to see people beginning to return, particularly from the UK, Germany and Russia." - Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report -