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ONLINE travel services company Expedia Inc reported a better-than-expected increase in fourth-quarter revenue, helped by higher gross bookings.
The company said gross bookings rose eight percent to $16.10 billion in the quarter ended December 31, primarily driven growth in Expedia.com and Hotels.com.
Bellevue, Washington-based Expedia said domestic gross bookings increased 5 percent, while international gross bookings rose 13 percent.
The company’s total revenue rose 23.2 percent to US$2.09 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of US$2.07 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Expedia’s shares fell two percent in after hours trading on Thursday after the company issued its report, but later recovered to trade marginally higher, up 0.4 percent at US$123.70.
Shares of online booking agencies have taken a hit following the Trump administration’s ban on travel from seven majority Muslim nations.
Expedia had said the order “jeopardizes its corporate mission and could have a detrimental impact on its business and employees, as well as the broader U.S. and global travel and tourism industry.”
On an adjusted basis, Expedia earned US$1.17 per share in the latest quarter, missing analysts’ average estimate of US$1.37, as expenses rose 17 percent.
Net income attributable to Expedia was US$79.5 million, or 51 cents per share, compared with a loss of US$12.5 million, or nine cents per share.
The year-ago quarter included charges related to Expedia’s purchase of vacation rental site HomeAway Inc, a move largely seen as ramping up competition with apartment-sharing startup Airbnb.
Expedia plans to push HomeAway, which has primarily marketed beach and ski rentals, into cities such as Paris and San Francisco where Airbnb holds sway.
Expedia has a majority stake in hotel search platform Trivago GmbH, which went public in December. Trivago shares were up nearly 11 percent in after-hours trading. – Reuters
The post Expedia records significant growth following surge in bookings appeared first on Travel Wire Asia.
Source: travelwireasia.com