Corporate booking and expense management technology provider Serko Ltd. on Wednesday reported transactions for the six months ending Sept. 30 were down significantly year over year, as expected amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Among Serko's home markets of Australia and New Zealand, Australia was particularly hard-hit, with domestic booking volume for the period at just 26 percent of 2019 levels. New Zealand fared comparably well, with volume at 76 percent of the period a year prior, according to Serko.
The dichotomy mainly was due to New Zealand's earlier easing of domestic travel restrictions compared with Australia, according to Serko. And with Australia's subsequent relaxing of its own restrictions now well underway, a similar recovery in volume is likely in that market, Serko noted. The bounce-back of Australian domestic bookings is expected to be the principal driver of transaction volume and revenue improvement for the company for the remainder of 2020.
Serko reported total operating revenue for the six-month period at NZ$5.1 million (US$3.5 million), a 66 percent decline from the same period in 2019. However, Serko in October added additional financial cushioning via a capital raise which netted the company NZ$67.5 million (US$46.8 million) in gross proceeds.
Serko earlier this week announced it signed a deal to become a strategic supplier partner for U.S.-based group purchasing organization Omnia Partners.