TBM Staff - Mumbai At the Annual General Meeting of Flight Centre Travel Group, some major business updates were issued to the Australian Securities Exchange. The company recorded AUD 6billion in the first quarter (1Q) Total Transaction Value (TTV), its second strongest start to a year and with corporate TTV again at record levels. During 1Q, TTV increased about 20 per cent – or more than AUD 900 million compared to the same period last year – to AUD 6billion, just below the record circa AUDD6.2billion result we delivered four years ago.
For 1Q, corporate TTV exceeded AUD 3.1billion, another record, as the company continued to outpace the broader sector’s recovery, with activity across the industry globally reaching 72 per cent of pre-COVID levels during the period (Based on MIDT data for 1Q FY23 as a % of 1Q FY19). This organic growth that has fuelled the company’s rapid recovery to date has continued with FCM securing new, contracted accounts with projected annual spending in the order of AUD 565 million already this year.
Bertrand Saillet, Managing Director, FCM Asia, said, “Asia has continued to show a double-digit recovery for the first quarter of FY24 in corporate travel. Southeast Asia and India showed a strong performance with continued gains in both market share and profits.
“Despite challenges faced in China and Japan, North Asia broke even, and we expect to see further strengthening for the rest of the year.
“Our retention rates remain strong at 98 per cent and we have continued to see strong resilience in the small-to-medium sized enterprise market in Asia, which has contributed to an increase in margin.
“The adoption of our new technology, FCM Platform, has increased self-service capabilities in key markets. Our strategic technological investments have enabled us to win new customers in the region”.
Chris Galanty, Global Corporate CEO, Flight Centre Travel Group, added, “The corporate division of the Flight Centre Travel Group (ASX:FLT), which includes flagship businesses FCM and Corporate Traveller, has achieved record-breaking Total Transaction Value (TTV) for the first quarter of FY24 with year-to-date wins totalling circa AUD 900 million.
“FCM has been able to secure some strong wins in both North America, United Kingdom, and Asia – one of the many reasons we saw a particularly strong end to the month of October. We see the corporate travel market has recovered to circa 70 per cent as an average across all markets.
“Despite the challenging macro environment globally, FCM and Corporate Traveller continue to win new customers and grow market share – while keeping their resilient customer bases. The small-to-medium sized enterprise market in the U.S. and Canada in particular, is strong.
“We’ve also enjoyed successful growth in both our digital platforms – Melon in the U.S. and UK – and FCM Platform, with our investments in both really starting to pay off.
“All new FCM customers are now successfully implemented on the new Platform and all our existing customers will also be transferred by the end of the financial year. Corporate Traveller’s Melon is also going from strength to strength, with more than 90 per cent of new customers in the U.S. integrated.
“There’s no question our new digital platforms have and will continue to be, key differentiators when it comes to winning new customers. With our strong people-first approach, combined with successful technological investments to date, this really sets us apart.”
