Flight Centre Travel Group end of financial year results

Flight Centre Travel Group end of financial year results – 2021/2022

Flight Centre Travel Group (FLT) today released audited 2022 fiscal year (FY2022) accounts.

The company took positive early steps on the path to post-COVID recovery during FY22 by:

Increasing market share in key countries and sectors
Achieving its targeted leisure and corporate return to profitability timeframes; and
Delivering better than expected full year earnings.

FLT also starts the new fiscal year with solid momentum after a strong finish to FY22, with TTV recovery accelerating during the fourth quarter (4Q) and the company recording a $35million underlying profit* for the period.

The 4Q uplift led to a modest second half (2H) profit – a significant turn-around from both the $184million loss recorded during the 1H, while heavy restrictions remained in place globally, and the $182.2million loss recorded during FY21 2H.

The $183.1million full year loss was:

A 46% improvement on the $337.8million FY21 result; and

Well within FLT’s upgraded guidance range ($180million-$190million loss).

Corporate Segment Result & Strategic Update

Since the start of the pandemic, FLT’s corporate businesses have focused on Grow To Win, a global strategy based on enhancing capabilities across both the FCM and Corporate Traveller brands, retaining existing customers and winning large volumes of new accounts.

This strategy has started to deliver tangible benefits, as evidenced by the $2.5billion pipeline of FY22 account wins, global market-share growth, and the return to record monthly gross TTV levels in June 2022. The business is now set to gain scale benefits as transactions take off and as efficiencies deliver a lower cost per transaction, paving the way for profit growth.

During FY22, the corporate business delivered a $13.5million profit, which was underpinned by a $38.6million 4Q result.

TTV increased 158% to $5.6billion over the year, with $2.3billion generated during the 4Q – a TTV run-rate that would, if extrapolated over the year to June 30, 2023, exceed the record $8.9billion result achieved during FY19.

The ANZ, Americas and EMEA regions each generated circa 30% of FY22 corporate TTV, highlighting the business’s geographic diversity, with the balance coming from Asia, a region that now includes the start-up FCM Japan joint venture (launched in January).

In Australia, FLT maintains very high corporate market-share and continues to win unmanaged business and accounts from competitors. Wins are accelerating, as competitors struggle to meet clients’ needs in the current trading climate.

The Americas and EMEA businesses are, however, likely to overtake ANZ as the company’s largest corporate regions in the near-term given comparative market sizes, FLT’s small but growing market-share and the volume of new business being won within the two regions.

Overall, FLT’s corporate market-share in Australia, the US, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa has increased from 6.3% during the FY19 2H to 7% during the FY22 2H (Source: GDS/MIDT data).

Comments by FCM Asia's Managing Director, Bertrand Saillet:

“Unsurprisingly, following the progressive opening of Asian countries to international travellers this year, we have experienced strong demand from our clients across the region. In this evolving travel climate, changing customer requirements and market dynamics are creating opportunities for us to develop our services and programmes."

Having accelerated our investment in next generation technology during the pandemic, we’ve been able to swiftly provide an immediate solution in the shape of FCM’s new proprietary travel management platform, as well as extend our services to the thriving SME segment through a new fee-free travel management programme. We’ve also been able to harness this growth potential in markets like Japan where we solidified our presence by establishing a new, dedicated Tokyo office staffed by team of expert consultants to bolster the company’s Asian capabilities.

"There is no doubt that the pandemic has changed the travel experience and presented new challenges, complications, and requirements for business travellers. However, through this region-first, customer centric approach we are fully prepared to support our clients and their return to travel in a meaningful way.”