Webjet is just the ticket MATT O'SULLIVAN January 6, 2010
ONLINE booking service Webjet has reported a surge in the value of ticket sales in the first half - a further sign that the hard-hit travel sector is staging a broad recovery.
Webjet's upbeat performance also raises the prospect that Flight Centre and Wotif.com will release improved guidance statements. Two weeks ago Qantas said an improvement in average air fares and demand would steer it back into profitability in the first half.
Shares in Webjet closed 14, or 7 per cent, higher at $2.20 - a record - after it announced a 37 per cent lift in total transaction values to $248 million for the six months to December 31.
Webjet managing director David Clarke trumpeted the figures yesterday as evidence that the company had ''totally defied'' the travel industry downturn over the past year. He attributed the increase in the value of ticket sales mainly to consumers shifting from travel agencies to online booking sites. But he said the sector was starting to show signs of a recovery in demand for travel.
''We are seeing a massive increase in shopping activity, which would suggest pent-up demand, but we are not necessarily seeing that same growth in bookings yet,'' he said. ''Consumers are still hoping that fares will go back to July levels [when they reached decade lows].''
Mr Clarke said Webjet had gained market share during the period but he declined to put a figure on it because of the unreliability of industry statistics.
The operator of the travel aggregator website will not give profit guidance before the release of its half-year results at the end of the month. Webjet said in August it would be disappointed if it did not report a profit increase for this financial year.
Foresight Securities analyst Todd Guyot said Webjet and other travel companies such as Flight Centre and Wotif.com were benefiting from improving industry trends. The strong Australian dollar and cheap air fares had helped stimulate travel demand.
''The trends are very supportive of what they are doing and they are still growing off a low base,'' he said.
Wotif shares rose 16 to a record high of $6.99 but Flight Centre shares closed down 28 at $17.85.
VBA Price at posting:
57.0¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
