Travelport reported a 7% increase in net revenue to $651 million in first-quarter results for this year announced yesterday, with ‘travel commerce’ revenue also rising 7%.
The global distribution system’s strongest growth was in the Asia-Pacific, with growth in Europe steady, but Travelport reported a fall in air traffic volume in the Middle East primarily due to a decline in the UAE.
Travelport president and chief executive Gordon Wilson attributed the fall in the Middle East to “challenges on the yield side” for the Gulf carriers.
The company’s adjusted operating profit was up 9% year on year for the three months to $169 million.
Commerce revenue in the Asia Pacific region rose 18% to $151 million, to within $5 million of revenue in the US. Quarterly revenue in Europe was up 4% to more than $202 million.
Revenue in the Middle East and Africa also rose, but traffic segments in the region were down 3% on last year when all other regions saw increased traffic.
Wilson reported “greater revenue from existing customers as well as new business wins across multiple geographies”.
He told Travel Weekly: “The figures were buoyed up as Easter fell in the first quarter last year and second quarter this, but were pretty good taking that out.”
Wilson reported substantial growth in India, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore and said: “We’re really pumping in Asia-Pacific.”
“Latin America is coming back as a market and Europe did just fine. The only weaker spot was the Middle East and Africa where revenue was up but volume down. It was mainly the UAE down which says something about the economy there.
He said: “It’s difficult to separate out [the impacts]. There is the Trump ‘ban’ and the security issue with laptops. Egypt is still way down. The UAE is a little suppressed for economic reasons.
“The Gulf carriers are having challenges on the yield side mainly because of increased competition. There is overcapacity in Asia and increasing competition from China.”
Wilson added: “The gap between Asia Pacific and the US is narrowing. I think we’ll see Asia Pacific overtake the US for revenue.”