Flight Centre Travel Group has announced robust mid-year results for the fiscal year 2024, with FCM Asia emerging as a standout performer, registering a 44% increase in revenue.
The company reported an underlying profit before tax (PBT) of AUD$106 million for the half-year period ending December 31, 2023. Notably, the leisure business achieved an underlying PBT of AUD$60 million, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and marking a significant increase from the previous fiscal year’s first half result by approximately 30-fold.
Additionally, the underlying corporate PBT rose by 53% to AUD$93 million, reflecting sustained organic growth.
Key financial highlights include a 15% increase in total transaction value (TTV) to AUD$11.3 billion, positioning FCTG for its second strongest start to a year, trailing only behind the FY20 first half. Corporate TTV reached a record AUD$5.9 billion, while leisure TTV surged to AUD$5.2 billion, underscored by the company’s diverse brand portfolio and strategic initiatives.
Bertrand Saillet, FCM Managing Director, Asia, attributed the region’s performance to strategic decisions, technological investments, and leveraging Global Business Solutions for enhanced operational efficiency.
“Asia has continued to outperform, with a significant 44% increase in revenue, fuelled by strong performance across Southeast Asia, India, and the re-opening of China,” said Saillet. “Our strategic decisions to consolidate and focus on our core business offerings, investments in technology, and leveraging Global Business Solutions to increase automation, operational efficiencies, and productivity have contributed to our success.”
Chris Galanty, Global Corporate CEO of Flight Centre Travel Group, lauded the strong start of the corporate businesses globally, which contributed 52% of the company’s total transaction value. Galanty highlighted record sales achievements across all geographic regions and emphasised the significance of high customer retention rates and substantial new account acquisitions in a sector that has yet to fully recover from pre-COVID transaction volumes.
“At the end of January 2024, our corporate brands had secured new accounts with projected annual spends of circa $1.3billion, with FCM Travel typically winning customers from competitors, and Corporate Traveller securing a mix of unmanaged and smaller, managed accounts,” said Galanty.
He continued, “We continue to make strides in the technology space with mass adoption of our Corporate Traveller Melon platform in the USA and Canada – with fast growth also being seen in the UK. FCM Platform has also seen successful growth with all existing customers anticipated to be migrated this year.
Galanty further detailed the company’s technological advancements, including the mass adoption of Corporate Traveller Melon platform and successful growth of FCM Platform.
“We’re also progressing our corporate AI Centre of Excellence and that has seen new features added to the suite of products already available that have improved the customer experience and increased our operational productivity,” added Galanty.
Looking ahead, Galanty expressed optimism about sustaining momentum into the second half of FY24, with anticipated advancements and global customer onboarding initiatives. He underscored the company’s commitment to clear and consistent strategies, focusing on growth and productivity.
