Datalex upbeat on earnings as deployments continue
IRISH travel software firm Datalex remains on track to deliver a 15pc to 20pc increase in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation this year.
That will pitch earnings at between $14m and $14.6m (€11.7m to €12.2m).
Releasing a trading update, it said that 2017 is a “significant year” for the group, as it continues to expand.
Datalex’s software powers ancillary revenue generation at airlines such as Aer Lingus, Delta, Lufthansa and Air China, as well as other travel retailers.
“Our market opportunity continues to expand, we are successfully executing on a number of major customer engagements and we are accelerating our scaling investment in product and partnership capabilities, both of which will drive future revenue opportunities and business growth,” according to the company, whose CEO is Aidan Brogan.
It added that it has continued to make progress in deploying its system at Lufthansa, one of Datalex’s largest-ever integrations.
The system is expected to be up and running, and generating revenue for Lufthansa, next year.
Datalex, whose shareholders include billionaire Dermot Desmond and businessman Nick Furlong, also said that it will complete development this year of its online travel agent platform.
The first live deployment of the solution is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2018.
“This is a new to market offering, which will open up a new market opportunity for Datalex,” it noted.
It added: “Our new business pipeline continues to strengthen across all geographies, and we are currently engaged in a number of negotiations with potential new business signings.
“We are confident that we will announce a number of new business relationships in the coming months.”
Datalex has also signed an agreement to extend its contract with US carrier JetBlue to the end of 2022.
In China, Datalex has established a joint development and implementation team with Neusoft to extend the company’s reach in the country.
It is also working with IBM’s travel and transportation division to jointly develop the IBM travel retail platform.
Mr Furlong’s Pageant Holdings has slashed its stake in stock market-listed Datalex this year, taking advantage of a strong share price performance by the software firm.
Pageant now owns about 2.4pc of the company.
Davy Stockbrokers is pencilling in an 18pc increase in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation this year.