Amadeus has attributed its strong profit figures to its distribution and IT solutions businesses and also its acquisitions.
According to the recently released financial statements on its full year results ending December 31, 2016, Amadeus achieved adjusted profit of €911.0 million (US$963 million) for the full year of 2016, which represents growth of 21.2% compared to 2015. Revenues grew 14.3% to €4,472.9 million.
Strong figures were recorded by its distribution business with total travel agency air bookings rising 5.9%, to 534.9 million; its IT solutions business also saw healthy numbers – passengers Boarded increased 85% to 1,382.5 million.
Navitaire was singled out as an acquisition that has paid immediate dividends for them.
Amadeus’ president and chief executive officer Luis Maroto said its recent acquisitions such as Navitaire “drove Amadeus’ successful financial performance in 2016”.
Navitaire’s acquisition was closed at the beginning of 2016 following regulatory approval. Navitaire, a technology and business solutions provider to the airline industry specialising in the low-cost segment, is meant to complement Amadeus’ Altéa.
“Given the positive trend of new contracts we have seen so far in 2017, we are confident that Amadeus will have a solid financial performance this year, supported by a moderate pick up in global economic growth as predicted by IMF,” he added.
Travel agency air bookings rose 5.9% to 534.9 million, outperforming GDS industry growth of 3.1%. However, Amadeus noted that airlines remained confident in the GDS distribution network, with new contracts and renewals signed with 46 carriers including Emirates, LATAM Airlines Group S.A., Air Cairo and Etihad Airways.
Growth was also consistent in the low-cost carrier (LCC) segment in 2016. Amadeus system now carries inventory from 90 low cost and hybrid carriers worldwide. In 2016, bookings of this segment grew 15% compared to the previous year.
Among new businesses for Amadeus is airport IT solutions such as the Amadeus Airport Sequence Manager and Airport Collaborative Decision Making Portal that provide the airport, its airline customers, ground handlers and air traffic controllers with accurate and synched information on aircraft departures.
In the payment arena, Amadeus launched B2B Wallet Prepaid. This virtual card initiative, whose details are generated each time it is used to maximise security, is partnered with MasterCard to offer travel agencies payment acceptance and security worldwide, as well as further protection against supplier default in B2B Wallet. The second partnership, with Ixaris, will allow travel agencies to easily create and add funds to their virtual payment cards.
Two solutions were launched by Amadeus travel intelligence unit in 2016: Amadeus Performance Insight and Amadeus Booking Analytics. The first one allows airlines to better understand their performance using data to inform and improve their decision making. Amadeus Booking Analytics offer airlines the possibility of monitoring bookings – per route, per booking class, per airline, among other criteria, and act upon them.
