Webjet result slumps after writing off $44 million in Thomas Cook debt.
Webjet has reported a 24% rise in revenue to $217.8 million for the first half of FY20, but was owed $44 million in unpaid receivables by Thomas Cook.
Managing Director John Guscic said the amount owed was written off as bad debt during the period, which impacted the statutory result.
The company achieved a net profit after tax excluding acquisition amortisation of $55.1 million, up 44%, but the statutory net profit after tax came in much lower at $9 million due to the Thomas Cook collapse, a 64% slide on the first half of FY19.
Webjet delivered a record underlying EBITDA of $86.3m, a whopping 43% increase, however the statutory EBITDA result was $46.4m, down 14%.
Webjet said the WebBeds business unit continued to take share across all regions and was a significant driver of volume growth and margin expansion, reporting an 81% increase in EBITDA to $57.3 million.
More in Travel Daily today.
Coronavirus could have $40 million impact on Corporate Travel Management.
Corporate Travel Management has warned that the earnings impact of COVID-19 will be in the range of $15 million to $40 million, but has reported a 12% increase in underlying earnings “despite significant global headwinds”.
Total Transaction Value for the six months to 31 December was $3.31 billion, while the company’s underlying EBITDA result was flat with the previous corresponding period, at $64.5 million.
MD Jamie Pherous said “we maintained steady operating momentum in 1H20 despite the macro-economic impacts from Brexit, demonstrations in Hong Kong and the US/China trade war.
“These one-off events have masked an otherwise solid business performance where we have been winning customers, managing costs and growing market share,” he said.
More in today’s issue of Travel Daily.