A strong performance as travel firm in profit
TRAVEL specialist On The Beach has declared a maiden dividend after reporting it was back in the black following a jump in revenues and profits.
The Cheadle-headquartered group, which listed on the stock market last year, has swung from a loss of £2.5m to pre-tax profits of £16.9m for the financial year ending September 30.
Revenues in the period surged by 13 per cent to £71.3m, up from £63.1m in the previous year.
The UK remained its strongest market with revenues up 12.3 per cent to £70.2m, while it was making strong progress in the international market with sales up 57 per cent to £1.1m.
Daily unique visitors to its website rose 13 per cent year-on-year to 61.3 million, with revenue per visitor maintained £1.15.
The company declared its maiden final dividend of 2.20 pence per share, its first payout since listing.
Simon Cooper, CEO of On the Beach Group, said: “These results are testament to the strength and flexibility of our agile business model amidst difficult conditions in the travel industry. On the Beach has delivered a 47pc increase in underlying profit before tax, ahead of market expectations despite a number of challenging external factors and a market-leading performance for UK EBITDA as a percentage of revenue at 36pc.
“During the year, the group has showcased its unique strengths and attributes to deliver profitable growth.
“On the Beach continues to use its modular technology platform to innovate and deliver value and flexibility to an increasing audience of beach holidaymakers.
“Using our scale to drive exclusivity, our technology to drive innovation and our financial strength, ATOL protection and strong consumer brand to drive customer trust, we are well placed to capitalise on the structural changes in the market which will only accelerate given the difficult conditions in the market this year.
“We remain confident in the resilience and flexibility of our business model, and the long term resilience of our sector. On the Beach continues to successfully build a leading position as more consumers discover the ease of use and wide choice of beach holidays that our platforms offer.”