WEBJET has made a $26 million profit on the sale of its Asia-focused bookings business Zuji to subsidiaries of Hong Kong-travel technology group, Uriel Aviation Holding Limited last month. Shares in Webjet jumped after the $56 million sale, which was almost double the $30 million paid for Zuji by Webjet back in March 2013.
At the same time as announcing the sale Webjet CEO John Gucsic said the company remained committed to expanding its presence in Asia through B2B hotels, announcing the launch of new start-up FIT Ruums which extends the firm’s WebBeds hotel wholesaling division across key Asian markets – in particular China through a major strategic alliance with Dida Travel Technology.
Gucsic highlighted the massive potential of the B2B hotel sector which has also seen offshoot Sunhotels enter into a major strategic partnership with UK-based Thomas Cook Group. Webjet has a vision to capitalise on the growth in FIT travel, via a combination of direct contracts and partnerships with local DMCs with technology to facilitate connections to XML clients, retail agencies and other wholesalers.
WebBeds overall is forecasting in excess of $450 million in TTV this financial year, with a profit contribution of more than $11 million.
