Visitors browse at the display of Expedia during the International Tourism Trade Fair in Berlin.
Fabrizio Bensch | Retuers
Expedia reported its first quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday, continuing to show the financial devastation the coronavirus is having on the travel industry.
Shares initially dropped on the report before gaining more than 3%.
Here’s what the company reported:
- Loss of $1.83 per share
- Revenue: $2.21 billion
The company’s Q1 revenue decreased 15% year over year, Expedia reported. Expedia’s adjusted net loss was $285 million for the quarter, up 545% year over year.
Expedia’s lodging revenue decreased 10% in its first quarter, on a 14% decrease in room nights stayed, which it said was partly offset by a 5% increase in revenue per room night. Air revenue dropped 56%, which Expedia said was driven by a 41% decrease in revenue per ticket and a 26% decline in air tickets sold. Expedia also noted that advertising and media revenue decreased 23% in Q1.
“In January, gross bookings growth was positive, as COVID-19 modestly impacted results, with the virus largely limited to the Asia Pacific region,” the company wrote.
“In February, gross bookings declined year over year as the virus spread, particularly into Europe by later in the month. During March, with COVID-19 becoming a global pandemic, including significantly impacting North America, our largest region, cancellations exceeded new bookings, and total gross bookings were negative for the month.”
Wall Street had anticipated a loss per share of $1.23 on revenue of $2.20 billion, based on Refinitiv consensus estimates. However, it’s difficult to compare reported earnings with analyst estimates for Expedia’s first quarter, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to hit global economies and makes earnings impact difficult to assess.
Travel has dramatically slowed across the globe as governments ask people to stay at home to slow the spread of the virus. Expedia last month announced it was raising $3.2 billion in new capital to strengthen its financial flexibility and liquidity positions amid the pandemic.
Before the pandemic, Expedia had warned of the impacts from weakened visibility in Google search results. Changes in the Google’s search algorithm lessened its visibility on search results, causing a heavier reliance on paid advertising.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
