SABRE claims it is confident of long-term growth despite
seeing profits fall by almost 10% during 2001.
The global distributions system’s results for the year
ending Jan 31, 2001, showed profits fall 9.7% to £162.4 million, down from £180
million last year. The company has
blamed the September 11 terrorist attacks and current economic conditions for
the drop.
Chairman and chief executive officer William Hannigan was
upbeat: “We continue to see global booking trends improve and in the fourth
quarter we took actions to better align our cost structure with the realities
of a gradually recovering industry. As the leader in all channels of Travel
distribution, we remain well positioned for long-term growth,” he said.
Revenues in the first quarter of 2002 are expected to be
reduced compared to 2001, but will show signs of improvement.