Publicly releasing quarterly results for the first time in years after launching its initial public offering last month, global distribution and travel technology supplier Amadeus today said bookings through the travel agency channel for the first three months of this year grew by nearly 10 percent compared with the same period in 2009.
Revenues from its global distribution business increased 12.4 percent, thanks to particular strength in what it considered the emerging markets of the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Central Eastern and Southern European countries.
Globally, Amadeus claimed a 36.5 percent marketshare of travel agent bookings. Though the firm reported that share slipped by a very modest 0.1 percent from the fist quarter of 2009, Amadeus maintains what it called a "global leadership position in marketshare." Non-air bookings through agents, meanwhile, fell year over year by 2.3 percent in the quarter, Amadeus reported.
Spain-based Amadeus, which also supplies airlines with information technology, reported net income grew 58 percent over the same period in 2009, totaling €128.9 million. President and CEO David Jones in a statement today said, "We are encouraged by the recent industrywide increase in global air traffic and travel bookings, and this is a strong indicator of our growth potential as the global travel industry continues to recover."
Competitor Travelport earlier this month also reported growth in GDS bookings, but at a rate of 6 percent for the first quarter. CEO Jeff Clarke attributed the upward swing in part to a healthy return of business travel demand
(BTNonline, May 6). The third major global distribution competitor, Sabre, does not publicly release performance results.