Travelport blames interest costs for $11m Q1 slump

Travelport saw an $11 million slump in adjusted net income to $3 million in the first quarter of the year.

Travelport saw an $11 million slump in adjusted net income to $3 million in the first quarter of the year.

The company blamed a $13 million increase in interest costs to $83 million for the decline. This was due to higher interest rates on debt as a result of a debt refinancing last year.

Net debt reduced to $3.226 billion as of March 31 against $3.340 billion at the end of December.

Net revenue for the three months to March was 4% up year on year at $572 million. Adjusted earnings (EBITDA) of $151 million were $10 million higher than the first quarter of 2013.

Travelport said it continues “to assess and evaluate potential capital markets transactions, including potential debt-for-equity exchanges, and similar transactions”.

But the company added: “We can give no assurances that we will pursue or consummate such transactions as they are dependent, among other things, on market conditions and other factors that are inherently unpredictable.”

President and chief executive Gordon Wilson said: “As we celebrate the one year anniversary of our merchandising platform, I am pleased we have further strengthened our air proposition with the signing of new ground-breaking agreements with Ryanair and AirAsia, an extended partnership with easyJet, and over thirty airline agreements for our rich content and branding functionality.

“Through these unrivalled agreements, we are now uniquely positioned to sell the content of all the world’s top ten airlines.

“This milestone builds on our leadership in global hotel content distribution and augments our strong financial performance.”