Issues & Trends – August 2011
Webjet results demonstrate continuing growth and profitability of the OTA model
WEBJET managing director John Guscic has hailed the online travel agency’s results for the last financial year.
They show a 17 per cent lift in total transaction value (TTV) to $592 million and pre-tax profit growth of eight per cent to $15.7 million.
“Webjet has delivered another record profit for the year and in particular recorded a lift in net profit before tax for the second half January to June 2011 of approximately $1.4 million,” Guscic said.
“This result is after absorbing the anticipated first year operating loss in the US and the half year in Asia, totalling approximately $700,000.
“The core operation in Australia and New Zealand therefore produced an underlying full year profit increase of 10 per cent year on year.”
The 12 months to June 30, 2011 saw Webjet relaunch its hotel offering and complete the migration of its service centre to Manila.
The company has deferred its planned Europe launch in conjunction with the Cassar family and will focus on USA and Asia next year.
- A Webjet statement lodged with the Australian Stock Exchange pointed to:
- 15 consecutive half years of TTV growth (in Australia and New Zealand);
- Maintained margins;
- Maintained number one market position in the Online Hitwise OTA category in Australia (and six of the last eight months in New Zealand); and
- Lower service centre cost base for 2011/12.
Meanwhile Webjet says it is planning “a multi supply hotel offering which will see an increase from the current 69,000 approximate hotels on offer, to over 100,000 hotels by January 2012”.
According to the statement this will mean that Webjet will offer over one million rooms for sale worldwide every day – “We consequently expect TTV and profit to grow in excess of 10 per cent for the year 2011/2012”.