Expedia Group Inc. followed its colleagues in the online travel industry in watching a shocking decrease in sales since the coronavirus spread, with total gross reservations falling nearly 40 percent in the first three months this year.
The Seattle-headquartered firm posted $17.89 billion in total gross bookings, including a drop of as much as 90 percent in the second half as the pandemic broke out. Sales dropped to $2.21 billion by 15 percent, the first quarterly retreat in eight years.
The loss before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization was pegged at $76 million, or 1.83 per share, compared to a 27 cents loss from the previous year. Analysts had estimated a loss of $1.45 per share on $2.11 billion sales.
Chief executive officer Peter Kern disclosed that Expedia Group has been hit with a huge reduction in business in the first quarter as a result of the ongoing global health crisis that badly affected travel.
The Seattle-headquartered business disclosed its earnings Wednesday, registering an EPS of minus $1.83 on $2.2 billion sales, retreating 15 percent year-on-year. Expedia Group includes brands and sites like Travelocity, Vrbo, Orbitz, HomeAway, to name a few, on top of its flagship, Expedia.com.
During its earnings call, executives stated that Expedia was witnessing a moderate rebound and some signs of economic recovery this month, but was still far from levels before the crisis took hold. Expedia stocks initially retreated on when the earnings report was made public, before it rallied over 4.5 percent in extended sessions.
Expedia reported that its sales from lodging were down 10 percent in the first three months, on a 14 percent drop in room nights accommodations, which it pointed out was cushioned in part by a 5 percent climb in revenue per room night.
Air sales were also down 55 percent, which the group noted was pushed by a 40 percent dip in revenue per ticket and a 25 percent fal in air tickets sold. Sales from media and advertising, Expedia said, fell 22 percent in the first quarter.
Last March, the group cancelled its full-year outlook as stay at home mandates started to take a heavy toll on flights and travel worldwide. Expedia had already been losing, reducing its workforce by 3,000 jobs the previous month to simplify what had turned out to be a bloated organization, as the company was beset with mounting stress from Google in advertising and sprightly startups like Airbnb.
Last month, the company said it was securing $3.2 billion in fresh funding to revive its financial capacity and liquidity positions in the midst of the worsening global crisis.
