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On the Beach posts 47% hike in profits despite terror attacks

Online travel agency On the Beach achieved a 46.5% rise in pre-tax profits to £14.5 million in the year to September 30.


The company has continued to perform strongly since then despite the impact of the terror attacks in Paris and the downing of a Russian passenger aircraft over Egypt.


The hike in annual profits came as the company handled bookings for a “milestone” of more than one million UK customers for the first time in its history.


Announcing its first annual financial results since gaining a full stock exchange listing in September, the company reported a 37.1% rise in revenue to £62.5 million and total transaction value up by 26.6% to £453.6 million.


Daily unique visitors to the site increased by 14% year-on-year to 54.4 million while mobile traffic share was up to 61.2% from 49%.


Founder and chief executive, Simon Cooper, said: “The start of FY16 [full year 2016] has been marred by the terrible events in Egypt and in Paris and our thoughts are with all of those affected.


“We have worked hard to ensure that all On the Beach customers in Sharm el-Sheikh were repatriated in an orderly fashion and those that were due to travel to the Red Sea prior to Christmas have been offered alternative holidays.


“As an OTA we have no commitments to flight or hotel capacity and are well positioned to react quickly to changes in consumer demand.”


Reporting on the company’s performance over the past 12 months, he described 2015 as being “a highly successful year,” delivering substantial growth and culminating in the IPO in September. 


“Our results demonstrate how we are successfully building a leading position as more consumers discover the ease of use and wide choice of beach holidays that our platforms offer,” Cooper said.


“Our customers’ reaction to our flexible payment plans and cross device holiday searching experience continues to be very encouraging and we are excited by the product development innovations we delivered during the year.”


“We continue to invest in the brand in both the UK and internationally, where we see long-term growth potential. All the while we are constantly improving the customer experience and pricing to ensure we stay competitive in our market.


“The company reached an important internal milestone in the year by arranging beach holidays for over one million customers in the UK for the first time.”


He added: “We have had a strong start to the new financial year and performance is in line with board’s expectations.


“I remain confident for the year ahead as we focus on our strategic objectives while investing to deliver long-term, sustainable returns for our shareholders.”


A further trading update is due on February 5.

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