07 March 2008

Travelport Ã¢â¬Ëœtransformed into low cost providerÃ¢â¬â¢

Galileo and Worldspan parent Travelport blamed Ã¢â¬Åâœone-time exceptional costsÃ¢â¬~ for a fourth quarter loss.

The company, which also runs GTA, lost $153 million in the three months before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization against a profit of $62 million a year previously.

For the full year, Travelport reported adjusted EBITDA of $688 million, up by four per cent.

The company acquired Worldspan last July and reduced its holding in Orbitz to 48% in October.

CEO and president Jeff Clarke described 2007 as a Ã¢â¬Åâœtransformational yearÃ¢â¬~ for the company.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThe reorganisation of our businesses into separate global operating units has delivered strong growth,Ã¢â¬~ he said.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThe successful execution of our re-engineering programme delivered $122 million in savings during the year, which was larger and sooner than originally anticipated, and has transformed Travelport into the low cost provider in the industry which gives us a competitive advantage.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThe acquisition of Worldspan provides our GDS business with a strong position in each of the three main global regions and gives us the best balance of services of any provider.Ã¢â¬~

Further cost savings of $167 million are anticipated by the end of 2008.

Worldspan saw fourth quarter revenues drop by 12% to $148 million due to the loss of Ã¢â¬Åâœcertain revenues from a single customerÃ¢â¬~. Adjusted EBITDA was $25 million for the quarter, a decline of 39%. The figure for the full year was down 28% to $192 million.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœWe expect the Worldspan integration programme to address the shortfall in EBITDA that affected Worldspan in 2007,Ã¢â¬~ a statement said.

Galileo saw fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA rise by 13% to $113 million, with the full year coming in at $499 million, up by 15%.

by Phil Davies