Expedia full year figures beat expectations

Expedia full year figures beat expectations

Global travel giant Expedia Group beat City expectations this week as it released a fourth quarter and full year trading update. The year to the end of December 2018 saw Expedia generate gross bookings of $99.7 billion, up 13% year on year while revenue was up 12% to $11.2 billion. Operating income rose 14% from … Continue reading Expedia full year figures beat expectations

Global travel giant Expedia Group beat City expectations this week as it released a fourth quarter and full year trading update.

The year to the end of December 2018 saw Expedia generate gross bookings of $99.7 billion, up 13% year on year while revenue was up 12% to $11.2 billion. Operating income rose 14% from $625 million to $714 million.

The firm said full year net income was up 7%, adjusted income rose 33% and adjusted EBITDA, a measure of profitability was up 15% year on year.

Earnings per share and adjusted earnings per share up 10% and 35% respectively.

Room night sold on Expedia’s platforms increased 13% for the full year and 11% in the fourth quarter while nights for its HomeAway holiday homes brand was up 29% for the full year.

The number of HomeAway properties integrated into listing now number over 370,000 taking the total number of properties Expedia offers to over one million.

HomeAway reported a 31% increase in gross bookings to $11.45 million while travel management company Egencia saw a 14% increase to $7.96 million. The core OTA recorded gross bookings of $80.32 billion, up 10%.

Air revenue increased 13% in 2018 on a 5% increase in tickets sold and a 7% increase in revenue per ticket.

Advertising and media revenue increased 2% for the full year, driven by growth in the group’s Expedia Media Solutions arm, offset by declines in hotel metasearch site Trivago. Other revenue increased 14% in 2018 reflecting growth in travel insurance and car rental.

In 2018, Expedia said it returned $1.1 billion to shareholders including repurchasing 7.7 million shares for $903 million and paying $186 million in dividends.

Shares in Expedia rose 7.5% as trading opened this morning after results exceeded expectations.