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Highlights
Webjet’s return to profitability was driven by WebBeds and Webjet OTA.
The company’s board didn’t announce a dividend for FY22.
It also didn’t provide earnings guidance for FY23.
Webjet Ltd (ASX:WEB) returned to black in the second half of the financial year 2022 on account of a fall in costs than the pre-COVID-19 period. The online travel agent’s return to profitability was driven by WebBeds and Webjet OTA.
The company’s board didn’t announce a dividend for FY22. It also didn’t provide earnings guidance for FY23.
By 10:15 AM (AEST), Webjet’s stock was trading at AU$5.56, down 3.97%. In the past year, the stock is up over 18%.
Webjet reported a 261% rise in total transaction value (TTV) to AU$1,638 million for the 12 months ending 31 March 2022. It included WebBeds TTV of AU$1,101 million and Webjet OTA TTV of AU$428 million. GoSee’s (formerly Online Republic) TTV stood at AU$108 million.
Webjet also boosted its revenue by a massive 258% to AU$138 million, out of which a lion’s share of AU$85.6 million revenue was contributed by WebBeds, followed by Webjet OTA’s revenue of AU$41.9 million, and GoSee’s revenue of AU$10.5 million.
However, the company reported another loss for FY2022. While the statutory net loss was AU$85.4 million, the underlying loss stood at AU$38.4 million. However, both saw major improvements when compared to the prior corresponding period.
Webjet posted underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) loss of AU$15 million for the year.
- WebBeds was profitable for the second half of FY22, driven by the North American and European markets.
- Webjet OTA was profitable for the whole year despite extensive lockdowns and border closures in 1H22, and the impact of the Omicron outbreak in 2H22.
- GoSee continued to be impacted by state and international border closures for most of the year.
What did Webjet’s management say?
Webjet Managing Director John Guscic was upbeat about the company’s results in FY2022.
“FY22 was a year of recovery. We are now cash flow positive, our two largest businesses returned to profitability, and we are seeing markets rebound strongly as travel restrictions continue to ease. WebBeds returned to profitability in the second half,” Guscic said.
“Our investment in North America is paying off with booking volumes for that business now already more than double what they were pre-pandemic, and all the work undertaken to drive efficiencies saw costs remain significantly below pre-pandemic levels,” he added.
Outlook
While the company didn’t provide any guidance for FY21, it was confident about its prospects. Based on current bookings trajectory, Webjet remained track of return at pre-pandemic bookings volumes by October 2022 to March 2023.
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