By Christina Thykjaer
MADRID, August 30 (Reuters) – Spanish eDreams ODIGEO EDRE.MC reduced its first-quarter net loss to 13.9 million euros ($13.94 million) as bookings rose 50% from pre-pandemic levels, the booking company said on Wednesday of travel.
The Barcelona firm, whose fiscal year began in April, had reported a net loss of 23.9 million euros a year earlier.
“The market has yet to recover to pre-COVID levels, so the increase in bookings really shows that people are choosing us,” chief executive Dana Dunne told Reuters.
Revenue doubled to 145.7 million euros, but earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) remained negative, with a loss of 1.8 million euros compared to a loss of 4 .2 million a year earlier.
“We have a lot of volume but, on average, people are booking shorter trips with fewer people right now, so we have fewer opportunities to deliver service,” the company’s chief financial officer told Reuters. company, David Elizaga.
Global travel restrictions for the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 preceded a strong rebound in 2022 which has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels, however.
eDreams was the first travel group to introduce subscriptions for customers, a fairly common practice in other industries, but a new approach in the travel industry.
“We’ve added over half a million new core subscribers in the last three months,” Dunne said, adding that he’s confident those numbers will exceed the 2025 target of 7.25 million subscribers. .
“In the coming months, we will begin to return to a more normal post-COVID seasonality.”
By 2025, eDreams is aiming for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in excess of €180 million.
eDreams shares were down 2.3% at 09:33 GMT, underperforming Spain’s Ibex-35 blue chip index .IBEX
($1 = 0.9968 euros)
(Reporting by Christina Thykjaer; Editing by Jason Neely and Clarence Fernandez)
((Christina.Thykjaer@thomsonreuters.com;))
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