HELLOWORLD Travel Limited has hailed “the rise of the trusted advisor” as a driving force behind its positive full-year result for the 2023 financial year.
The year to 30 June saw the agency more than double its TTV to $2.57 billion, with a dividend of 6c per share. Statutory profit after tax was $17.4 million – around 80% lower than the 2022 figure, however it includes the one-off proceeds of the sale of Helloworld’s business travel operations to Corporate Travel Management.
“There has never been a better time to be in a travel-related business, as demand continues to outstrip supply,” Helloworld Travel Limited CEO Andrew Burnes said, also highlighting that the recovery of leisure travel in particular continues to gather pace.
“Booking volumes are expected to continue to improve as capacity returns to normal and Asia fully opens,” he shared. Demand for Helloworld’s agent and broker network continues to outpace supply, the CEO added, with ticket volumes continuing to rise as airlines return to Australia and New Zealand.
Underlying earnings for the company are expected to reach up to $72 million for the 2023/24 financial year, taking into account contributions from recent acquisitions including Express Travel Group and Phil Hoffman Travel. The latter was finalised last week, with Helloworld purchasing a 40% stake in Adelaide agency for $4.4 million.
The agency is also gearing up to acquire corporate travel agency Gilpin Travel, and has renewed its ongoing Commercial Purchasing Agreement with Travellers Choice for another five years.
Meanwhile, Helloworld has flagged its expansion within the luxury travel sector, confirming the launch of a “new luxury offering” in the next year, which it said will consist of an “expanded Ultimate Journeys range and an exclusive range of premium hotels with tailored special offerings for our key networks”.
