What a result for Wotif
BRISBANE – Online accommodation site Wotif.com Holdings achieved a record half-year profit of A$17.1 million (up 43 percent) for the six months to December 31.
This result was driven by a 22 percent increase in room nights sold across the 44 countries available on Wotif.com’s website.
Wotif.com’s managing director and CEO, Robbie Cooke, commenting on the result said, “The first six months of the 2008 financial year has seen the Wotif.com team produce another very strong result.
“We sold a record 2.2 million room nights, and improved room rate yields by delivering an average 4.9 percent uplift in room rates.”
Cooke said it was especially pleasing to note that the 42 percent increase in after-tax profit (up to A$17.1 million) was driven off the back of a 32 percent increase in revenues.
“This strong rotation of revenue to profit clearly demonstrates the efficiencies that the Wotif.com model is able to achieve as scale increases.”
Cooke said the company was excited by the potential opportunities arising from the travel.com.au acquisition “and believes the business is now well placed to benefit from the growing online flights, hotels and corporate markets”.
Cooke said the acquisition of travel.com.au and the pending transaction with Asia Web Direct would significantly lift user traffic across the network of sites owned within the group.
Ian Jarrett
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