Amadeus attributes €911m profit to core business and acquisitions

Total travel agency air bookings through Amadeus rose 5.9% last year to 534.9 million. Continue reading →

Total travel agency air bookings through Amadeus rose 5.9% last year to 534.9 million.

Overall revenue for the year grew by 14.3% to more than €4.4 billion to give an adjusted profit of €911 million, representing growth of 21.2% compared to 2015.

This helped boost annual earnings [EBITDA] at the travel technology company by 16% year-on-year to €1.7 billion.

Bookings for more than 90 low-cost carriers using the Amadeus system grew by 15%.

Amadeus and Thomas Cook Group announced in January the extension of a global distribution contract until 2021.

The agreement will also allow Thomas Cook to use Amadeus Instant Search, a solution which claims to deliver quick online search results with no compromise on accuracy.

By the end of last year, 66% of the global bookings made through the Amadeus system were eligible to carry a merchandising item.

More than 120 airlines had contracts for Amadeus Airlines Ancillary Services, of which more than 90 had implemented the solutions.

Amadeus chief executive, Luis Maroto, said: “The strength of our core businesses, our diversification strategy and the positive contribution of recent acquisitions such as Navitaire drove Amadeus’ successful financial performance in 2016.

“Our distribution business maintained its strong performance and improved its competitive position by 0.8 percentage points to 43.2%.

“During 2016, we signed or renewed content agreements with 46 carriers, including key industry players such as easyJet, Emirates and LATAM Airlines Group.

“Revenue growth was also supported by our customers’ continued interest in our solutions.

“Kayak, the world’s leading travel search engine, implemented Amadeus Master Pricer with Instant Search technology.”

He added: “Growth in our IT Solutions area was supported by the consolidation of Navitaire as well as the migration of large carriers in Asia-Pacific.

“Among the airlines that chose to use Amadeus Altéa Passenger Service Systems and New Skies last year were China Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Brussels Airlines and Viva Group.

“In total, at the end of the year, more than 175 airlines had contracts with one of the two Amadeus Passenger Service Systems.

“In 2016 we have also crossed important milestones in business units such as Airport IT, for example the long-term partnership with Copenhagen Airports.

“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.”