Sabre reports Q4 loss

Sabre Holdings has posted a fourth quarter net loss of $14million compared to a profit of $1million for the same period the year before. Revenue for the three month period ending December 31 was $467million, up 3.2% on the year before. Full year net earnings were $83 million, compared to $214million for the year before. Fourth quarter revenue from the Sabre Travel Network business was $345 million, down 3.3% from $357 million for the same three month period in 2002. Total worldwide travel bookings processed through the Sabre GDS including direct bookings and joint venture bookings for which Sabre or its distribution partners earn a booking fee, were 366 million, down 8% on 2002. There was some good news however. Fourth quarter revenue at Travelocity was up 17.4% to $97million; with transaction revenue up almost 50% to $75million. For the year, Travelocity gross bookings reached $3.9 billion, an increase of 11.6% over 2002. Travelocity and America Online also announced an extension of their marketing agreement until March 2006. No one from Sabre was available to speak to TravelMole about the figures. In a statement president and chief executive Sam Gilliland said: “In 2003, we built the foundation to drive more predictable revenues and expand earnings this year. We dramatically improved our merchant offerings, created more value for travel suppliers and agency customers in anticipation of deregulation, and maintained leadership in our airline optimization business in a particularly tough environment.” He added: “For 2004, the year is all about profitability and execution. We have aggressive plans in 2004 to fuel our profitability by delivering customer-driven products and services while continuing to improve our cost structure.”