Adjusted profit for the period grew 9.7% to €209.9 million. This was driven by an increase in revenue of 14.0%, to €989.4 million, and EBITDA growth of 10.9%, to €389.6 million.
First quarter highlights (three months ended March 31, 2015)
• Revenue increased 14.0%, to €989.4 million.
• EBITDA grew 10.9%, to €389.6 million.
• In the Distribution business, total air travel agency bookings increased 11.4%, to 139.9 million.
• In the IT Solutions business, Passengers Boardedi increased 8.4%, to 165.3 million.
Luis Maroto, President & CEO of Amadeus, commented:
"Our consistent market share growth and successful entry into new areas, combined with organic growth and contributions from recent successful acquisitions, has allowed us to report further increases in revenue and profitability.
"Distribution remained a reliable source of strong growth with revenue rising 10.7%, thanks to a 2.4 p.p. expansion in global market share coming from increased US and South Korean bookings. IT Solutions fulfilled its strong growth potential with a significant increase in revenue of 24%, largely driven by Asia-Pacific with additional rises in Passengers Boarded and contracts such as China Airlines. Our geographical diversification beyond Western Europe has improved significantly, with the weighting of bookings and PBs from Western Europe now
accounting for 40.7% and 40.5% respectively.
"In the New Businesses area, our ambition to build a hotel community model took a significant step forward as it was announced we are working with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) to build its Guest Reservation System; and Airport IT has expanded further in the key North American market by acquiring Air-Transport IT Services, whose solutions are used by 30 of the busiest 50 US airports.
"We remain confident that our portfolio of innovative travel solutions and strong customer relationships will allow steady growth across our business throughout the remainder of 2015."
Business highlights during the first quarter
Distribution
• Revenue increased 10.7%, to €721.6 million
• Air travel agency bookings rose 11.4%, to 139.9 million
• Market share expanded by 2.4 percentage points, reaching 42.3%
Amadeus outperformed the industry during the first quarter, increasing global air travel agency bookings by 11.4% against an industry increase of 5.0%.
Low-cost carrier bookings through travel agencies using Amadeus increased 19% year-on-year during the first quarter. Already over 80 low-cost carriers, including Ryanair and EasyJet, have become Amadeus distribution partners.
IT Solutions
• Revenue grew 24.0%, to €267.7 million.
• Passengers Boarded rose 8.4% to total 165.3 million.
• Higher revenue driven by all lines: Altéa migrations and organic growth, plus Airline IT upselling activity and implementation fees; growing contribution from Airport IT and Payments; and contributions from the recently acquired Newmarket and UFIS.
• Growth in PBs largely came from the impact of airlines migrated during 2014, particularly Korean Air, as well as 2.6% organic growth.
Airline IT:
China Airlines, the largest airline and flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), along with its subsidiary, Mandarin Airlines, will adopt the full Amadeus Altéa suite of solutions.
Jet Asia Airways, a Thai airline based at Suvarnabhumi Airport, completed a successful implementation of the full Amadeus Altéa Suite in just three months to become the fastest Amadeus migration yet for an Asia-Pacific carrier.
As of 31 March this year, 133 airlines globally were contracted for both Altéa Reservation and Altéa Inventory, 118 of which were contracted to use the full Altéa Suite.
Lufthansa became the first airline to select Altéa Corporate Recognition, which allows airlines to identify corporate bookings at the moment of reservation.
Airport IT:
Amadeus contributed to Munich Airport reducing runway waiting time by 50% and inbound delays by 24%, whilst improving flight slot adherence by 22%, through the adoption of Amadeus Airport Sequence Manager.
Our Airport IT business accelerated its expansion through the acquisition of Florida-based AirIT, as announced on April 23, 2015, establishing itself in the largest airport IT market globally, North America. AirIT solutions are used by 30 of the top 50 busiest airports in the US and have a strong customer base of more than 115 airlines and 120 airports in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean.
Hotel IT:
On April 29 InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (“IHG”) announced that it will partner with Amadeus to develop a next-generation Guest Reservation System (GRS). Together IHG and Amadeus will revolutionise the technological foundations of the global hospitality industry using a new cloud-based ‘Community Model’, a first in the hotel sector and similar to the model Amadeus developed for the global airline industry.
Payments:
Elavon, a leading global payments provider that works with more than 50 of the world’s leading airlines and the top global acquirer for the global airline industry, will integrate its payment processing solutions into the Amadeus Payments Platform (APP).
