Worldchoice claims three-fold profits rise
Worldchoice has claimed a three-fold profits surge on the back of staff cuts and maintaining good commission levels through membership of Triton Travel group.
The consortium saw pre-tax profits rise by 286% from 2004 to a record £652,964 for the year to December 2006.
Worldchoice chairman Colin Heal, who is also finance director, attributed the improved performance to a number of measures.
These included a 15% decline in administration costs since 2004, with staff numbers cut by 16% due to a recruitment freeze.
Initiatives such as foreign exchange, overseas property commissions and the 24/7 programme were also cited.
Worldchoice also no longer needed to subsidise its members’ Webchoice sites, and a major investment programme in new technology was completed in 2005.
Membership of Triton also helped maintain levels of commission for members.
Shareholders voted to approve a board recommendation of 8.7p per share dividend at the Worldchoice AGM.
Heal was re-appointed to the board after securing a vote of 97% in favour, as was general manager Bill Pickering by a similar percentage.
Tony Radstone narrowly failed to achieve ratification as a director, but the board is still considering the possibility of him attending meetings as the Members’ Consultative Committee (MCC) delegate. A statement said.
Heal thanked directors and staff for “all their hard work and co-operation” in particular their efforts to help cut administration costs.
He said: “We have kept tight control on costs while at the same time we have introduced innovative products that help our members continue to be competitive.
“The increased profit has generated excellent dividends for shareholders – for example, a shareholder with 10,000 shares would have earned more than £2,000 in dividends during the past four years.“
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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