MADRID, 4 August 2020: Global travel technology firm Amadeus reported its first loss in a decade in the second quarter of 2020 when airlines worldwide were grounded due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But according to the Reuters news report, the loss was less than expected. Claiming to be the world’s largest provider of booking services, Amadeus reported a 231 million euro ($274.57 million) loss in April to June, compared to a 305 million euro loss forecast earlier in the year by analysts at Refinitiv.
Mirabaud Group analyst Gonzalo De Cueto said the group has a strong financial position with 4.1 billion euros in liquidity and had announced a plan to cut 250 million euros of fixed costs from 2020 until 2021.
Air travel agency net bookings in April and May slipped into the red and May as cancellations exceeded gross bookings.
“Since late May, we have begun to see an increasing number of flights being scheduled, and air traffic and bookings have been responding,” said Amadeus president and chief executive Luis Maroto in a statement.
Amadeus’ earnings are strongly tied to the number of bookings it handles, as the company charges a fee for every reservation made on its platforms. About a fifth of its revenue comes from its IT hospitality business and non-air bookings.
It said travel agency air bookings slumped 113% in the quarter, while the number of passengers boarded via its IT business suffered a contraction of 94%.
Amadeus said revenue fell 82% to 259.5 million euros in the second quarter. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had predicted an even deeper slump.
(Source: Reuters)
