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Amadeus predicts 2004 turnaround in booking levels
Amadeus predicts that the number reservations through the system will rise by between 4-5% in 2004 over last year. The GDS also forecast that net income will reach between 165 million-175 million euros (£113m-119m) this year. Figures released for 2003 show net income up 6.6% year-on-year to 158 million euros (£108 m), despite overall reservations dropping by 2.6% to 385.5 million. Amadeus claimed its global market share edged up by 1.6 percentage points to 28.8% in 2003. While the GDS outpaced the market in Western Europe, Central Europe and Africa & Middle East, travel booking activity in North America remained depressed for the third consecutive year. Overall bookings fell by 8.4%, with Amadeus bookings down by 3.7%. Travel agency air bookings worldwide declined by 0.3% in the final quarter of 2003, although Amadeus saw bookings up by 2%, taking its global market share for the three month period to 29.7%, 2.8 percentage points ahead of its nearest rival. Net income for the fourth quarter was up 4.1% to 27.8 million euros (£23.9m) over the final three months of 2002. Amadeus saw an 18% rise in cruise bookings, mainly from US and UK travel agencies, in the quarter, while bookings through Amadeus Hotels increased by 11% in 2003 over the previous year. Company president and chief executive Jose Antonio Tazon said the 2003 results had been achieved against the backdrop of the highest annual drop in international travel ever registered by the World Tourism Organisation. “Amadeus ended 2003 with a strong fourth quarter performance and concluded the year slightly above our forecasts despite the challenging environment for GDSs and tough conditions in the travel industry overall,” he said. The company introduced a new “value-based” pricing scheme for distribution services offered to airlines last month. The company has warned that it will start charging fees to agents this year.
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