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Helloworld first-half results: $14 million loss, outlook remains positive

On the day that Australia said "G'day, world" by reopening its borders to international tourists after two years, Helloworld Travel Limited (HLO) announced its first-half results of the financial year reporting a statutory loss after tax of $14 million compared to $15.1 million in the first half of 2021.

On the day that Australia said “G’day, world” by reopening its borders to international tourists after two years, Helloworld Travel Limited (HLO) announced its first-half results of the financial year reporting a statutory loss after tax of $14 million compared to $15.1 million in the first half of 2021.

Despite ongoing challenging trading conditions, revenue for the travel giant grew $12.5 million on the prior corresponding period, operating costs declined, and short-term operating cash outflows remained tightly managed.

Total Transaction Value (TTV) for the Group grew 60.4% in the reporting period ending 31 December 2021, contributing to a 45.2% increase in travel-related revenues. Net loss before tax was $19.6 million, a decline of $1.9 million.

During this reporting period, HLO agreed to sell its corporate and entertainment travel businesses (comprising QBT, TravelEdge, Show Travel (excluding Show Freight), APX and Atlas Travel operations in Australia and New Zealand) to Corporate Travel Management (CTM), for an enterprise value of A$175 million.

HLO says it has sufficient liquidity to maintain operations and continue to benefit from the recovery of the travel and tourism market and to see that through to full recovery.

The Network

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Helloworld said that due to the enormous perseverance and effort of HLO’s network members in Australia and New Zealand, HLO’s significant retail networks remain largely intact.

As of the end of December 2021, member agencies in Australia totalled 1,827 which was a slight drop from its 1,861 total as of December 2020.

The Group said many agencies had significantly reduced staff numbers and have been servicing refunds, domestic bookings and enquiries for travel in 2022 and beyond with a major rebuild in staffing levels now underway.

Looking Ahead

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HLO said it expects the second half of FY22 to continue to improve particularly in Australia with all borders soon to be open and both inbound and outbound international travel resuming.

Most domestic bookings are for the next 3-6 months however many international bookings are being made for travel from May 2022 onwards with HLO holding significant forward bookings for the latter part of 2022 and throughout 2023.

Forward bookings have continued to climb with significant leisure bookings now held for travel through to the end of 2023 with HLO’s inbound businesses receiving more bookings on 8 February than the total of the previous two years. HLO, through its inbound subsidiaries, is the largest Inbound Tour Operator in Australia.

The Group says it expects demand for inbound arrivals to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji to steadily increase throughout 2022.

If travel demand continues to grow on its current trajectory, HLO says it should achieve a breakeven position or slightly better in the June quarter of FY22 and return to modest profitability throughout FY23.

Read the full results here.