Ebookers results point to profit in 2003

Monday, 11 Nov, 2002 0

Ebookers has posted record sales for the third quarter, and the Board is anticipating profit for 2003.

The online travel agency reported gross sales of £77.9 million for the third quarter, up 58 percent from the same quarter last year. This reduced the net loss to £2 million, down from a net loss of £3.5 million in the previous quarter, and also an improvement on the third quarter in 2001, when the company lost £2.6 million.

Ebookers is attributing its improved performace to reducing costs. Despite the negative comments of Scott Watson of Summit Consulting and Training, reported by TravelMole last week, ebookers says that outsourcing some of its business functions to India has saved it £994,000 for the quarter. The Board is reiterating its message from the second quarter, stating that it anticipates the company will acheive profitability in 2003, due to the continued cost savings made in India.

Ebookers chief financial officer, Nigel Addison Smith said: “We have had three near-term financial targets. The first was to reach positive cash flow, which we first did in the first quarter of this year and continue to achieve. The second was to reach positive EBITDA which we have delivered in this quarter. This shows a clear trend towards our third target – profit after tax. We look forward to delivering earnings for our shareholders.”

In addition to reducing costs, the ebookers Board says its has acheived increased sales through accelerated growth in higher margin non-air sales, such as hotels, which grew 196 percent during the quarter, and car hire, which grew 111 percent, year on year.

The agency hopes to boost sales of package holidays online when its introduces its Build-Your-Own Package technology in time for the first quarter of 2003. Ebookers also plans to grow through acquisition during 2003.

Read our previous stories:
13-Aug-2002 ebookers on course for the black in 2003
12-June-2002 ebookers and Tiscover partner online
5-June-2002 ebookers strengthens management team
14-May-2002 ebookers reports strong Q1 results