Webjet profit booms, bookings top pre-Covid era

The news: Travel bookings provider Webjet has revealed a boom in first-half profit, helped by bookings and sales that exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

The numbers: Webjet posted net profit after tax of $47.3 million for the six months to 30 September, up from $4.0 million for the same period last year. The number of bookings rose 27% and revenue jumped 39% as consumers continued their post-pandemic travel binge. Company leaders expect full-year earnings to be as much as 20% higher than those pre-pandemic.

The context: Webjet's WebBeds business, which helps hotels sell rooms to travellers, was instrumental in the performance. WebBeds' earnings and booking volumes were significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels. Webjet managing director John Guscic said during the pandemic the business worked to improve WebBeds' distribution and products so it could capitalise once travellers returned to the market.

What they said: "The global economy remains uncertain but global demand for travel remains resilient and notwithstanding the current geo-political issues, we expect FY24 EBITDA to significantly exceed pre-pandemic levels," Guscic said.