LASTMINUTE.COM has expanded its European operations and
signed deals with French leisure website Fnac.com and Spanish hotel chain Sol
Meliá.
Under the terms of the deals, Lastminute will become the exclusive
travel provider for Fnac while Sol Meliá has acquired a 70% stake in the
company’s Spanish subsidiary Lastminute Network S.L.
The deals were revealed as Lastminute released its results
for the third quarter ending June 30.
The figures showed the company’s net loss to be £8.9
million, down from £9.2 million for the same quarter last year, a fall of 4.3%.
Total transactions were £29.3 million, up from the £9.6 million achieved during
last year’s quarter.
The gross margin rose to 14.1%, up from 9.9% last year while
operating costs were reported to be down.
Group managing director and founder Martha Lane Fox said the
company is on target to break even by the end of next year and claimed the e-commerce
market is doing well.
“We’re really excited about these results, we’ll be profitable
by the end of next year and that’s always been the plan. The e-commerce market has
always been strong, it’s just the stock market hasn’t.”
Lastminute has also installed four computer kiosks at
Heathrow airport while a fifth kiosk has been put in the Bhs store on Oxford
Street in London.
Customers will be able to access the Lastminute website from
the kiosks and book flights, car hire and entertainments.
The aim of the kiosks is to make Lastminute’s services more
accessible to the tourists and the general public.