It’s reporting season once again and for Australia’s two ASX-listed travel retail giants, Flight Centre Travel Group and Helloworld Travel Limited, the cash registers are ringing loud and often.
Both companies posted huge jumps in Total Transaction Value and group revenue in results that reflect the booming leisure and corporate travel landscapes.
To Flight Centre first, and the company has smashed its own group-wide leisure and corporate revenues in a marketplace it says was affected by “significant deflation” in airfare prices, leading to a 13% year-on-year drop in airfare prices in the second half of FY2024.
This deflation however has been offset by a 10% increase in ticket volumes, plus larger basket sizes for various leisure brands.
Total Transaction Value set a new benchmark for the company, with the $23.74 billion taken in, marking a $1.8 billion year-on-year improvement and a slight rise on its prior record in 2019.
Overall, FCTG revealed a thriving balance sheet, reporting a $320 million Underlying Profit Before Tax for the 2024 fiscal year and group-wide revenue easily outpacing TTV growth.
The result was a 131% increase on the prior year and still factored in a $10.7 million loss stemming from the collapse of Rex Airlines, plus cost cutting from the closure of two international loss-making subsidiaries GoGo Holidays and Discova Central Americas.
FCTG Managing Director Graham ‘Skroo’ Turner said the result was particularly impressive considering it was done with “a substantially leaner workforce” with a headcount down 65% compared to what was in place five years ago.
“In an uncertain macro-economic and geopolitical climate, our business and the industry in general continued to grow – once again highlighting the sector’s resilience and our strength as a diversified global travel company,” Turner said.
Helloworld = Hello cash
Across the aisle to FCTG’s main industry rival, the company heaped praise on its network of store-based and home-based travel advisors, saying the public demand for the services of a trusted travel agent has never been higher.
Helloworld said its network of agents, brokers and mobile members thrive in any commercial setting and “reach across any geographic location”, with loyal customers who return to them time after time.
Spurred on by the integration of Express Travel Group into the Helloworld Group portfolio, the company posted a 62.5% spike in Total Transaction Value to over $4.1 billion, with customer revenue soaring to $216 million.
Profits before tax skyrocketed 93.7% to more than $40 million, with an underlying EBITDA margin of 30% highlighting improved cost efficiencies and productivity.
The company said it will continue to grow its workforce to meet demand, coupled with increased investment in technology and infrastructure to ensure TTV growth continues.
