Trip.com’s revenue and profit surged in 2023 as Chinese tourists gave in to post-Covid wanderlust
- Revenue at China’s largest online travel platform doubled to 10.3 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion) last quarter as demand approached pre-Covid levels in 2019
- Trip.com’s Hong Kong-listed shares surged 7.2 per cent to an all-time high of HK$355.20 after its market-beating results
Trip.com Group, China’s dominant online travel agency, reported significantly improved financial results in the fourth quarter on the back of surging travel demand that approached pre-pandemic levels, propelling its shares to an all-time high.
Revenue for the three months to December jumped 105 per cent to 10.3 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion) from a year earlier, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday, exceeding consensus among analysts tracked by Bloomberg. For full-year 2023, revenue surged 122 per cent to 44.5 billion yuan.
Full-year earnings jumped to a record 9.92 billion yuan from 1.4 billion yuan in 2022, the Shanghai-based firm added, surpassing the previous annual gain in 2019, according to Bloomberg data. Earnings in the final quarter of 2023 declined by about one-third due to one-off gains recorded in the previous comparative quarter.
China’s reopening in the first quarter of 2023 drove travel, James Liang, the group’s executive chairman, said in a statement. “Our global business also experienced substantial growth fuelled by our expanded market presence.”
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Bridge in China swamped with tourists during Lunar New Year holiday
Trip.com’s stock surged 7.2 per cent to a record HK$355.20 after its fourth-quarter revenue exceeded analysts’ expectations. Its US-listed shares were indicated at 6.8 per cent higher at US$44.76 before trading in New York
Trip.com reported significant revenues from its three main segments – hotel bookings, ticketing and packaged tours.
