The KFC Big Bash League (BBL) has seen world-class overseas players travel nearly 350,000 kilometres, spending more than 430 hours in the air, to arrive in Australia to compete in one of the country’s leading sporting leagues.
Flight Centre Travel Group EOFY FY23 Financial Results
Flight Centre Travel Group Records Strong Profit Turnaround During 2023 Fiscal Year
Flight Centre Travel Group (ASX:FLT) recorded a strong profit turnaround during FY23.
The diversified global travel company delivered AUD$301.6million in underlying EBITDA for the 12 months to June 30, 2023 – an almost AUD$485million turnaround from FY22’s AUD$183.1million underlying loss.
The result represented a 265% YOY improvement and was above the mid-point in FLT’S upgraded, targeted profit range FY23 (AUD$295million-AUD$305million).
On a profit before tax (PBT) basis, the company achieved an underlying AUD$106million profit (FY22: AUD$361million loss) and an AUD$70million statutory PBT (FY22: AUD $378million loss).
FLT's corporate travel business continued to out-perform, comfortably out-pacing broader industry recovery and delivering record TTV during FY23.
The AUD$11billion FY23 result represented 96 per cent YOY growth (FY22: AUD5.6billion) and an almost 25 per cent increase on the previous TTV record (FY19: AUD$8.9billion).
New TTV milestones were established in all geographic segments, with the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) business topping its previous record by 59 per cent, Asia by 24 per cent, the Americas by 15.6 per cent, and Australia-New Zealand (ANZ) by 10.5 per cent.
The Americas business was FLT’s largest corporate operation, generating 31 per cent of group corporate TTV, just ahead of ANZ (30 per cent), EMEA (28 per cent), and Asia (11 per cent).
For the full statement to the ASX, CLICK HERE.
Comments by Chris Galanty, Global CEO, Flight Centre Corporate:
“Our global corporate travel business – with flagships FCM and Corporate Traveller – has continued to outperform, delivering record Total Transaction Value (TTV) in FY23 in a market that has generally seen an improvement, but has still yet to recover fully to pre-pandemic levels.
“We’ve invested significantly for the future by focusing on customer retention and securing large volumes of new clients, in both the large market and SME segments, while expanding our sales force worldwide and introducing new innovative platforms and products for our customers globally.
“We’ve also concentrated on our people, prioritising recruitment, training, and development ensuring we are fully equipped to help customers as dedicated travel consultants continue to be a critical facet for large businesses and SMEs when it comes to their travel management programs.
“Our grow-to-win strategy has continued momentum, our investment has seen us take huge strides forward, and we’re proud to have opened new headquarters in both New York and London this year.
“This growth focused approach has given us a real competitive advantage and enabled our duo of category-leading brands to boost market share by retaining, winning, and implementing a larger volume of business.
“We continue to be industry leaders when it comes to technology with our innovative proprietary platform for Corporate Traveller, Melon, thriving in both the UK and USA, with AI also making a real difference for our FCM customers. We’re also still proudly the only travel management company globally to have our own aggregator to provide our clients with NDC content through TPConnects.
“As the global economy remains under pressure, the corporate travel outlook is positive, evidenced by our robust performance in FY23, and supported by the Global Business Travel Association’s recent 2023 Business Travel Index™ Outlook, noting that global business travel spend is expected to surpass its pre-pandemic spending level of $1.4 trillion (USD) in 2024.
“For economies to survive, recover, and thrive – big business and SMEs must continue to travel for meetings, events, and conferences to retain staff, recruit the best talent, and win new contracts – these are just some of the factors that have played a part in such a strong corporate bounceback.”
Comments by Adam Moon, General Manager, Stage and Screen:
“Flight Centre Travel Group's EOFY report to the ASX underscores one undeniable truth: travel is back, and it's back with a vengeance. In our specialised domain of entertainment and sporting travel, we've not just seen a recovery; we've experienced a robust resurgence.
"As a leader in boutique travel for entertainment and sports, our year's success can be distilled into three fundamental pillars: Team, Customers, and Financial Success. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved across these verticals, enhancing experiences for everyone involved with our brand.
"This year, Queensland Maroon star Reuben Cotter publicly acknowledged the quality of our services during their winning Ampol State of Origin series. Additionally, we've observed a phenomenal uptick in travel among creative professionals, signalling strength in a sector we're passionate about.
"On the operational front, we’ve accomplished a digital transformation, migrating a large part of our business to an online booking platform. The goal was clear: achieve maximum efficiency without burdening our operations with undue costs.
"This strategic digital shift has been pivotal in resource reallocation. We’ve moved from 20 per cent to a staggering 50 per cent in online bookings, while realizing automation levels of 25-30 per cent. This is not just about tech; it’s about smart business.
"The impact of this operational overhaul has been profound. We’ve liberated considerable bandwidth, allowing us to focus on delivering unmatched service where it counts the most for our clients.
"In summing up another terrific year, our people remain our most treasured asset. Their unwavering dedication has been instrumental in shaping Stage and Screen's success. To each and every team member, thank you. We’re setting our sights high as we eagerly anticipate an exhilarating FY 24."
