Flight Centre shares fall back to earth after $378 million loss

How are Flight Centre shares faring after the company reported its FY22 earnings this morning?

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Key points

  • The ASX 200 is enjoying some more gains so far this Thursday
  • But the same can't be said of the Flight Centre share price
  • Flight Centre reported its earnings this morning, and investors are not liking what they've seen

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is off to a flying start this Thursday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has gained a healthy 0.82% at just over 7,050 points. But let's check out the performance of Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares.

The Flight Centre share price is on watch today after the ASX travel share reported its full-year earnings for the 2022 financial year before the bell this morning.

As my Fool colleague Brooke dug into earlier, Flight Centre reported a massive 154% surge in revenues to $1 billion. But that was not enough to stop it from delivering an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) loss of $200 million. That was a loss 53.7% higher than what the company delivered last year.

However, statutory loss before tax improved by 27% on FY21 to a loss of $377.8 million. But perhaps given that Flight Centre's bottom line is still deep in the red, the company won't be paying out a final dividend for FY22.

This stretches Flight Centre's dividend drought to almost three years, given its last dividends were doled out back in October 2019.

So what does this mean for the Flight Centre share price? Let's take a look.

How have Flight Centre shares reacted to the earnings result?

Well, it hasn't been pretty. The travel company initially rose after market open this morning, climbing as high as $17.75 a share after opening at $17.45. But investors seem to have lost confidence, with Flight Centre shares now down 5.31% at $16.42 a share.

This latest move puts the Flight Centre share price at a loss of 11% year to date. However, the shares are up by around 1% over the past 12 months. Flight Centre remains down more than 50% from pre-COVID levels.

At the current Flight Cente share price, this ASX 200 travel share has a market capitalisation of $3.4 billion.

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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