TripAdvisor shares dip as quarterly update falls short of expectations

Review site posted second quarter revenues of $424 million Continue reading →

Shares in TripAdvisor fell after the travel review site’s performance disappointed analysts despite reporting a $33 million increase in revenue to $424 million.

The site saw non-hotel revenue grew 31% year-over-year with adjusted EBITDA at $17 million, up 270%.

However hotel revenue saw a dip by 20% to $84 million from $105 million in the same quarter last year.

The trading update saw shares dip 6% as OTA rival Priceline, parent of booking.com, KAYAK and Momondo also issued disappointing quarterly results.

Steve Kaufer, chief executive, said: “In Q2, we successfully launched our streamlined hotel shopping experience and our new, multi-year brand advertising campaign and have seen some nice early signs.

“Click-based revenue is growing this year, and we believe our ongoing initiatives position our Hotel segment for longer-term growth.

“Over the coming years, as our product and marketing work coalesce, and as more users look to TripAdvisor to find the best prices before they book, we believe we can drive more revenue, marketing efficiency and profitability in this business.”

TripAadvisor’s average monthly unique hotel shoppers reached 153 million, up 11% year-over-year.

Branded click-based and transaction revenue per hotel shopper decreased 2% year-on-year.

Average monthly unique hotel shoppers reached 153 million, up 11% year-on-year. Average monthly unique visitors on TripAdvisor-branded websites and applications reached nearly 415 million, up 18% year-over-year.

The volume of user reviews grew 39% year-over-year reaching 535 million covering 1.1 million properties, 800,000 holiday rentals, 4.4 million restaurants and 830,000 activities and attractions.

TripAdvisor said it repurchased 2,549,080 shares of outstanding common stock during the second quarter for $100 million and completed a $250 million share repurchase program.

Ernst Teunissen, chief financial officer, said: “Q2 revenue and Adjusted EBITDA grew year-over-year and sequentially.

“Our Non-Hotel segment stood out, as revenue growth accelerated to 31% and its adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 17%.

“We continue to execute well against our stated three-to-five year growth strategy in our non-hotel businesses and these results highlight our continued growth opportunity and this segment’s attractive longer-term margin potential.”