Amadeus Global Travel Distribution

has reported its first quarter 2002 results for the period ended 31 March 2002.

Overall bookings for the first quarter of 2002 were 105.4 million, a decline of 4.9 per cent on the same period in 2001. A significant element within this decline was North America, where the post 11 September 2001 recovery has been slower than in other regions. During the first quarter, non-air bookings increased by 0.9 per cent. Operating expenses for the quarter were EUR 387.0m, a decrease of 0.3 per cent over the first quarter in 2001. This decrease reflects tighter control of selling, general and administrative expenses that more than compensated for increases in business costs for e-Travel and other activities.

Total revenue for the three months ended 31 March 2002 was EUR 481.0m, a decrease of 0.2 per cent over the first quarter in 2001. Within this figure, booking revenue declined by 1.6 per cent over the same period in the previous year. Non-booking revenue for the quarter revenue from IT services increased by 6.5 per cent, with the offered to British Airways accounting for much of this increase.
Commenting on the results Jose Antonio Tazon

, President and CEO of Amadeus, said:
“Amadeus has begun the year well, with first quarter results ahead of our expectations. In travel agency bookings we have again out-performed the industry, despite the tough operating conditions encountered in many international markets.

“Our EBITDA for the first quarter was EUR 135.5m, a 4.5 per cent increase on the equivalent period in 2001. This represents a very positive result, especially when compared with the strong first quarter performance achieved by Amadeus in 2001.

“In Asia Pacific we continue to make significant progress, with almost 20 per cent growth in first quarter bookings, compared with the same period in 2001. Meanwhile in the UK, where the travel industry has been slow to recover, our first quarter bookings were up almost 40 per cent on the same period of 2001.

“In February Amadeus completed its largest ever data migration

, when British Airways` offices switched to the unique Amadeus sales and distribution system. Some 2.5 million live reservations and 6.5 million customer profiles were successfully migrated, with no data loss.

“During the first quarter we re-organised

all of our online travel solution activities into one, focused business unit called e-Travel. With a world class portfolio of flexible solutions, an unrivalled customer base and a pipeline of new business prospects, e-Travel has a bright future.
“Given the clear signs of a more sustained recovery in air travel, Amadeus is raising its target for bookings growth in the current year from flat growth, to an increase of around 1.2 per cent. In view of our strong first quarter results and recent improvements to our organisational effectiveness, we are also raising our projections for revenue and EBITDA for the full year.”

 

Related stories on ITN:

(12/03/2002) Amadeus Renews Partnership with Thai Airlines

 

(06/03/2002) Amadeus Launches New Global Business Unit for Online Travel Solutions

(01/03/2002) Amadeus Selected to Replace Legacy British Airways Booking System (BABS)

(22/02/2002) Amadeus Launches Pioneering Travel Technology

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