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 Half-Year FY24 Financial Results
Flight Centre Travel Group (ASX:FLT) achieved an AUD$106million underlying profit before tax (PBT) for the half year to December 31, 2023.
The leisure business’s AUD$60million underlying PBT exceeded pre-pandemic levels and was:
• Circa 30-times the AUD$2million FY23 first half (1H) result; and
• Double the AUD$30million FY19 1H underlying PBT.
Underlying corporate PBT increased 53 per cent to AUD$93million, during another period of healthy, organic growth and ahead of the Productive Operations initiative’s benefits being realised.
Total transaction value (TTV) increased 15 per cent to AUD$11.3billion, delivering FCTG's second strongest start to a year (behind only the FY20 1H).
Corporate TTV increased 16.8 per cent to a record AUD$5.9billion, as the business again achieved new sales milestones and comfortably outpaced the broader corporate travel sector’s recovery.
Leisure TTV increased 18 per cent to AUD$5.2billion, with scale benefits being achieved across a diverse mass market, luxury, complementary and independent brand range.
For the full ASX announcement, please CLICK HERE.
Comments by Adam Moon, Stage and Screen General Manager, Australia:
“Our parent company, the Flight Centre Travel Group (ASX:FLT), has released its mid-year results for FY24 – the figures reflect a solid first half to the financial year for our Stage and Screen business.
“The volume of travellers managed by Stage and Screen increased by close to five per cent in H1 FY24, compared to H1 FY23, in a sign of a successful start to the financial year.
“Stage and Screen operates under a unique service model, which resonates strongly with our market, and has led to substantial market share across the sports, arts, production, and performance industries.
“Our strategy has focused on the aligned creative industry has driven growth opportunities for the business, and we are optimistic about the new opportunities in this space as we enter the second half of the financial year.
“Our forte is the culmination of our people and technology, operating as the strength behind the scenes, in a hands-on approach to service. A consistent commitment to productive operations will contribute to the ongoing growth of our business and customer base throughout the second half of the financial year.
“These efforts are further buoyed by the Global Business Travel Association findings that international business travel spend will reach $1.5 trillion in 2024, which is up from the pre-pandemic peak of $1.4 trillion.”
Comments by Chris Galanty, Global CEO, Flight Centre Corporate:
“Our corporate businesses have had a strong start to H1 of FY24 globally, contributing 52 per cent of Flight Centre Travel Group’s (ASX:FLT) total transaction value, with our proven organic growth model again delivering record overall sales.
“We’ve also achieved new milestones in the four geographic regions of Australia and New Zealand, the Americas, Europe, and Middle East and Africa and Asia.
“These record results, built on high customer retention rates and large volumes of new account wins, were achieved in a sector that has only recovered to circa 70 per cent of pre-COVID transaction volume levels, pointing to our healthy market-share growth.
“At the end of January 2024, our corporate brands had secured new accounts with projected annual spends of circa $1.3billion, with FCM Travel typically winning customers from competitors, and Corporate Traveller securing a mix of unmanaged and smaller, managed accounts.
“We continue to make strides in the technology space with mass adoption of our Corporate Traveller Melon platform in the USA and Canada – with fast growth also being seen in the UK. FCM Platform has also seen successful growth with all existing customers anticipated to be migrated this year.
“We’re also progressing our corporate AI Centre of Excellence and that has seen new features added to the suite of products already available that have improved the customer experience and increased our operational productivity.
“Aside from technology, we’ve also been working tirelessly towards clear and consistent strategies that have been successfully executed globally, with these strategies initially focusing on ‘Grow to Win’, but now also include productive operations.
“We look forward to continuing this momentum into H2 of FY24 – with more exciting advancements to come later in the year – and some major customers to be onboarded globally.”
