SHANGHAI, 23 March 2020: In its business outlook attached to its 2019 financial results, China’s Trip.com forecasts net revenue during the first quarter of 2020 will decrease by 45% to 50% year-over-year.
“The beginning of 2020 was challenging for the travel industry due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. As a result, we have lowered our expectations for growth in the first quarter of 2020.”
The leading provider of online travel and related services in China, Trip.com Group reported strong financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2019.
Income from operations for the fourth quarter of 2019 was RMB580 million (USD84 million), compared to the loss of RMB189 million in the same period in 2018.
Excluding share-based compensation charges, non-GAAP income from operations increased by 294% year-over-year to RMB1 billion (USD148 million) in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Net income attributable to Trip.com Group’s shareholders reached RMB2 billion (USD289 million) in the fourth quarter of 2019, resulting in 2019 full-year net income of RMB7.0 billion (USD1 billion), compared to net loss of RMB1.2 billion in the same period in 2018 and net income of RMB1.1 billion for full-year 2018.
Excluding share-based compensation charges and fair value changes of equity securities investments, non-GAAP net income attributable to Trip.com Group’s shareholders increased by 132% year-over-year to RMB1.2 billion (USD171 million) in the fourth quarter of 2019 and by 19% year-over-year to RMB6.5 billion (USD937 million) for full-year 2019.
The year-over-year revenue growth for hotels (excluding Greater China destinations) reached 51% in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Brand Trip.com delivered its 13th consecutive triple-digit growth for international air ticketing volume in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Ctrip branded low-star hotel room-nights increased by around 50% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2019.
By the end of 2019, our offline stores reached close to 8,000 in operation and in the pipeline.
“Despite a challenging beginning in 2020, we are confident of the underlying fundamentals of the Chinese economy, and continue to feel excited about the opportunities globally as well”, said the company’s executive chairman, James Liang. “During the novel coronavirus outbreak, we took immediate actions to take care of our customers and partners, while taking on necessary financial impact in the near term.”
Full-year financial highlights
For the fiscal year ended 31 December 2019, net revenue was RMB35.7 billion (US$5.1 billion), representing a 15% increase from 2018.
Accommodation reservation revenue for the full year ended 31 December 2019, reached RMB13.5 billion (US$1.9 billion).
Transportation ticketing revenue was RMB14.0 billion (USD2 billion), representing an 8% increase from 2018.
Packaged tour revenue was RMB4.5 billion (USD651 million), representing a 20% increase from 2018.
Corporate travel revenue reached RMB1.3 billion (USD180 million), representing a 28% increase from 2018.
For the full year ended 31 December 2019, gross margin was 79%, compared to 80% in 2018.
Income from operations was RMB5 billion (USD723 million), compared to RMB2.6 billion in 2018. Excluding share-based compensation charges, non-GAAP income from operations was RMB6.8 billion (USD970 million), compared to RMB4.3 billion in 2018.
The operating margin was 14%, compared to 8% in 2018. Excluding share-based compensation charges, the non-GAAP operating margin was 19%, compared to 14% in 2018.
Net income attributable to Trip.com Group’s shareholders was RMB7.0 billion (US$1billion), compared to RMB1.1 billion in 2018.
(Source.Trip.com)
