The Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price is on the move on Wednesday morning.
At the time of writing, the online travel booker's shares are up 5% to a 52-week high of $7.70.
This follows the release of Webjet's full-year results for FY 2023.
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Webjet share price races higher on results release
- Bookings up 115% to 7.36 million
- Total transaction value (TTV) up 165% to $4.35 billion
- Revenue up 164% to $364.4 million
- Underlying EBITDA of $134.8 million
- Cash balance of $514 million
- No dividend for FY 2023
What happened during FY 2023?
For the 12 months ended 31 March, Webjet delivered a 164% increase in revenue to $364.4 million. This was underpinned by a 115% lift in bookings and a 165% jump in TTV.
The latter was underpinned by impressive growth from all three segments. WebBeds reported a 156% increase in TTV to $2,818 million, Webjet OTA delivered a 204% increase in TTV to $1,305 million, and GoSee posted a 106% increase in TTV to $222 million.
Importantly, WebBeds bookings, TTV, and revenue are now all ahead of pre-COVID levels. However, that's not yet the case for Webjet OTA and GoSee. Management notes that "high ticket prices and capacity constraints continue to subdue overall bookings" in the Webjet OTA business.
More good news is that all three segments delivered positive EBITDA in FY 2023. The WebBeds business was the highlight with its EBITDA of $117.1 million. Not only is this up from a loss of $4.6 million a year earlier, but it is also now 22% ahead of pre-COVID levels. This reflects market share growth and scalability benefits.
Finally, on an underlying basis, Webjet reported a net profit after tax of $69.9 million. This is up from a $35 million loss in FY 2022.
How does this compare to expectations?
According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts were expecting TTV of $4,094 billion, revenue of $337.5 million, and positive EBITDA of $123.9 million. This was largely in line with consensus estimates.
As you can see above, the company has smashed these estimates with its results today. This goes some way to explaining why the Webjet share price has taken off this morning.
Management commentary
Webjet's managing director, John Guscic, was pleased with the result. He said:
Webjet has emerged from the pandemic better placed to deliver growth than even before. Even though travel has yet to fully return to what it was, in the second half of FY23 we saw Group Bookings, TTV, Revenue and EBITDA all ahead of where they were when the pandemic hit. This reflects all the efforts we took to make sure we would not only recapture demand when travel returned, but also further accelerate our growth profile.
The key driver of these results has been the outstanding performance of the WebBeds business. Executing against our transformation strategy is paying off – we have retooled that business, streamlined the technology platform, eliminated inefficiencies and found ways to service markets that had not previously been open to us. WebBeds is now selling more product to more customers and is more profitable than it ever has been – and this is just the beginning.
Guscic also reiterated his belief that WebBeds has a $10 billion market opportunity. He adds:
In transforming WebBeds, a number of attractive and highly profitable opportunities are now open to us. By continuing to find ways to get closer to our supply partners and better understand client preferences, in the longer term we believe WebBeds can deliver $10 Billion TTV while continuing to deliver best-in-class EBITDA margins.
Outlook
No guidance has been given for the year ahead, but Guscic revealed that FY 2024 has started strongly. He advised:
We have seen a strong start to FY24. For the first seven weeks of trading, WebBeds Bookings and TTV are more than 35% and 40% higher respectively than for the same period last year. Webjet OTA is also delivering a solid performance with Bookings and TTV up more than 10% and 30% on the prior year. GoSee's Bookings and TTV are up more than 15% and 5%.
There is still widespread uncertainty in the global economy but we have never been more excited for our future. Momentum in the WebBeds business is accelerating, Webjet OTA has significant international potential, and GoSee is laying the foundations to pursue growth in the global motorhome and car rental markets.
