A merger, sporting agreements, staff changes and a new boss – a year of changes over at helloworld has delivered positive financial results and left the company in a “solid position”.
In the words of CEO Andrew Burnes, “it’s a good news story” for everyone at the evolving company with the business making a 1.7 million profit after tax for FY16, up 100.8 percent on the $201.1 million loss during FY15.
While it’s still a stretch from Flight Centre’s $246.7 million underlying net profit after tax, helloworld CEO Andrew Burnes said the result puts the group in a “solid position” with a “strong opportunity for growth”.
“They [the results] represent the positive steps we have taken so far, and the opportunity to build on this momentum for success in the future.”
Andrew Burnes, Helloworld Chief Executive and Managing Director
Impressively, the company’s total transaction value (TTV) jumped 8.3 percent compared to last year, to around $5.08 billion. The majority of transactions came through retail, which delivered around $3.6 billion in TTV, up 3.5 percent.
In the corporate segment, helloworld welcomed a 22.7 percent spike in TTV, a result of the appointment of QBT as the sole provider of travel management services to the Whole of Australian Government, while wholesale increased 20.2 percent on last year to $801.8 million.
“The fundamentals of the business are sound and we are seeing continued demand in our retail, wholesale/inbound and corporate divisions.”
Andrew Burnes, Helloworld Chief Executive and Managing Director
Looking ahead, Burnes said tighter cost management will “deliver much stronger fiscal outcomes for the business”, while aligning the group’s traditional franchise network distribution with the online distribution platforms will provide customers with the best of both worlds.