Travelport boosts ‘Beyond Air’ bookings, but earnings slip
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Travelport saw its profits decline in the first quarter of the year, but continued to increase its non-airline sales.
The travel technology company’s earnings before tax and other items (EBITDA) fell 9% to US$137 million in the first three months of 2015; a result Travelport said was “in line with expectations”.
The year-on-year comparisons were affected by impact of “renegotiated legacy contracts with Orbitz Worldwide and Delta Air Lines”, the company said.
Quarterly revenues were almost unchanged at US$572m.
Despite the decline in earnings, Travelport’s president & CEO, Gordon Wilson, was satisfied with the results.
“Travelport is off to a solid start in 2015 with the first quarter in line with our expectations,” Wilson said. “2015 continues to be a transition year for Travelport as we move beyond the resolution of two key legacy contracts. Net of these, we are seeing real momentum in our business as we continue to invest in our platform.”
The company continues to improve in areas outside the aviation sector, such as hotels, payment services and car rental. This ‘Beyond Air’ revenue increased 14% to US$110m in Q1 2015, with the proportion of hotel bookings sold in tandem with air tickets up 11%, and car rental bookings days sold also rising 11%.
Air revenue however, was down 3% to US$432m, as strong growth in the Asia Pacific region failed to fully offset the lower volumes in the US and Europe.
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