Flight Centre Travel Group has delivered a AU$320 million underlying PBT for 2024 fiscal year (FY24) – the result is a 131 per cent increase on the AU$139 million FY23 and is at the mid-point of FLT’s guidance range.
Total Transaction Value (TTV) reached a record AU$23.74 billion, slightly above the AU$23.7 billion FY19 result and a circa AU$1.8 billion year on year increase, with both corporate and leisure businesses delivering more than AU$1 billion year on year growth, and corporate achieving another record.
FLT’s global corporate business delivered a 44 per cent underlying PBT increase to AU$211 million, with Corporate Traveller contributing a record profit.
Corporate TTV increased by 10 per cent to a record AU$12.1 billion, as the business finished the year about 35 per cent larger than FY19 in a sector that has only recovered to circa 80 per cent of the pre pandemic activity levels (Source: MIDT).
Comments by Melissa Elf, ANZ Managing Director/Global COO, Flight Centre Corporate:
“Flight Centre Corporate’s results underscore the importance of business travel, and the significant contribution it delivers to the wider Flight Centre Travel Group.
“In FY24, we observed clear indicators of a rise in the volume, expenditure, and frequency of corporate travel, demonstrating that businesses across Australia regard it as an essential facet, rather than an optional one.
“In a market that generally grew in Australia, the Group’s flagship corporate brands of FCM Travel and Corporate Traveller enjoyed strong customer retention and achieved some major milestone wins, which led to a year-on-year increase in corporate travel bookings of more than five per cent in FY24.
“We’ve invested significant time in understanding the market’s pain points and we’ve made substantial investments in capitalising on this as an opportunity to retain and grow. This approach has seen our corporate business generate new revenue streams and keep ahead of the curve.
“Our unique combination of exceptional people and market-leading technology resonates with customers and prospects, and we remain committed to our investment in technology and productive operations to continue growing our share of the market.
“We’re optimistic about the financial year ahead, as we continue to implement new technology and bring new customers onboard, all the while our customers report that they intend to increase both their travel and their spend over the coming year.”
Comments by Chris Galanty, Global Corporate CEO, Flight Centre Travel Group:
“It’s been a robust year for the corporate pillar of the Flight Centre Travel Group with our flagship brands of Corporate Traveller and FCM Travel delivering record Total Transaction Value in a sector that has only recovered to circa 80 per cent of pre-COVID transaction volumes.
“This result has been driven by high customer retention rates and a large pipeline of new account wins, some of which have yet to be fully implemented, so we’ll see the benefits of these flow over the coming months once they begin trading.
“FCM Travel transaction volumes rose by 10 per cent year on year as the business continues to win and service large multi-national and enterprise-level accounts, while Corporate Traveller delivered a record profit globally, alongside winning managed and unmanaged SME and start-up accounts.
“Our blend of exceptional people and innovative technology continues to set us apart with both dedicated travel consultants and managers joining forces with the mass adoption of Corporate Traveller’s Melon online booking tool in the Northern Hemisphere and FCM Platform globally.
“We’ve continued to invest, and this year saw us launch our global corporate-specific AI Centre of Excellence that’s revolutionising customer service, empowering our agents through smart automation, and is a key driver as we remain on track to deliver our Productive Operations project.
“We’ve also spent a lot of time in understanding the pain points of our customers and we’ve made significant investments to solve these problems – this has since allowed us to generate new revenue streams – meaning that we ultimately stay ahead of the curve.
“We’ve done an excellent job in building a solid foundation of stability, and as recent global industry wide issues have proved, it always pays to have a travel management company on your side.
“The corporate arm of the Flight Centre Travel Group is a materially larger business than pre-COVID and we’re energised by the progress we’ve made in the Grow to Win space – and will continue to make – in productive operations in Flight Centre Travel Group’s journey to becoming a two per cent margin business.”
