A modest return to profitability for online travel group Webjet
(ASX:WEB) but no interim dividend for shareholders for the six months to September, as the company rode the return to the air by Australian travellers here and offshore.
The company told the ASX on Thursday that group had underlying earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $72.5 million ($77.5 million on constant currency basis) for the first half as group bookings returned to back pre-pandemic levels (ie, 2019).
The company also said that the total value of its transactions was now at 90% of pre-pandemic levels while costs were 16% lower than pre-pandemic.
Revenue was up 217% to $175.7 million from the same half of 2021 (when lockdowns were widespread and travel restricted both domestically and internationally).
The EBITDA figure of $72.5 million was more than 550% higher than a year ago as the re-opening of firstly domestic travel and then our international borders saw Webjet (and rivals like Flight Centre) see more business through the doors and websites.
Underlying net profit after tax of $32 million was up from a loss of $29.2 million previously.
And the company ended the half year with a cash balance of $504 million.
Investors loved the news and sent the shares up more than 10% to $6.19.
CEO John Guscic said in the statement “This result demonstrates a spectacular turnaround of $88.4 million in underlying EBITDA from the 1H22 loss of $15.9 million. It underpins the efforts we took as soon as the pandemic hit to ensure each business was optimally positioned to recapture demand once travel returned.”
“Recovery is substantially accelerating and WebBeds is leading the charge. All WebBeds regions saw significant organic growth, particularly Europe which benefited from a strong northern hemisphere summer, and North America which is now more than three times larger than it was when the pandemic began.
“Search activity and conversions through the WebBeds platform continue to increase, and EBITDA margins are now higher than they were pre-pandemic.
“Despite a number of large markets yet to open, since May WebBeds bookings have exceeded what they were before the pandemic hit and profitability is getting close to pre-pandemic levels”
“Prior to the pandemic, Webjet was one of the most profitable online travel agents in the world and EBITDA margins are already back over 41%, despite inflationary wage pressures and after absorbing the loss of overrides and commission usually earned on international travel. The new GoSee brand is being rolled out in key markets and the rebrand strategy continues to go to plan.”
