After a year's delay, Corporate Travel Management on Thursday (27 August) reported financial results for the 2025 fiscal year and the first half of the 2026 fiscal year, and the travel management company said those results demonstrated "resilience" amid its crisis related to an overcharging and accounting scandal.
The Brisbane-based company reported a net loss of A$348.5 million (£184.6 million) for its financial year ending 30 June 2025, largely due to goodwill impairments of A$357.7 million (£189.4 million).
CTM's total transaction value increased to A$9.6 billion for the 2025 fiscal year, up from A$9.1 billion (£4.8 billion) in the 2024 fiscal year, and CTM projects TTV will further increase to A$9.8 billion (£5.2 billion) for the 2026 fiscal year.
Revenue in the 2025 fiscal year was near flat at A$643.4 million (£340.7 million), and it is forecast to increase to A$669.9 million (£354.8 million) in the 2026 fiscal year.
In an earnings call, CTM managing director and CEO Ana Pedersen, who secured the top job in July, said the TMC has retained about 97 per cent of client TTV through the 2026 fiscal year and reported A$669 million (£354.3 million) of new business wins during the period.
"The key message is that the fundamental strengths of CTM remain intact," Pedersen said. "We have global scale, long-standing client relationships, high retention, deep travel expertise and differentiated technology and content."
During the call, global chief financial officer James Spence gave details on the accounting errors at the heart of the crisis that led it to suspend trading of securities on the Australian Securities Exchange since last August.
The bulk of it stemmed from "certain UK customers”, including the UK government, who were charged "in excess of CTM's contractual entitlements," and a review of contracts and transactions from more than six years have shown a liability of A$234 million, Spence said. CTM has agreed to about A$167 million in refunds related to those contacts, A$20 million of which has already been paid.
An additional A$23 million in refunds have been agreed on for contracts entered into during the 2025 fiscal year, and discussions with the customers affected by the remaining balance are "ongoing," he said.
The audit process also revealed an issue in which certain airline fares purchased under wholesale commercial arrangement were retained while some contracts "did not clearly contemplate this margin being retained by CTM," Spence said. CTM has quantified that liability at A$29 million and is working with clients on remediation.
The third issue related to supplier rebates received in the Australia/New Zealand region "where CTM had contractual obligations to pass those amounts back to clients," Spence said. That has been quantified at A$13 million, and CTM has found an additional A$6 million owed through a "broader process review," he said.
"We've identified the issues, quantified the liabilities and have reached settlements for the majority of refund liabilities, 78 per cent," Spence said. "While there is still work ahead to finalise all outstanding matters, we now have a clear understanding of our exposures and a defined pathway to resolution."
CTM reported that its cash on hand as of 30 June was about A$107 million, and the TMC this week announced a A$175 million (£92 million) funding package to support repayments and ongoing operations.
CTM was facing a deadline of 29 August to publish its audited financial results to avoid potential delisting from the ASX. Spence said its full fiscal year 2026 accounts would be released early next week, after which "it will then be for the ASX to determine when relisting occurs”.
During the review process, CTM said it has undergone "significant governance and operational change". That includes development of a group-wide ‘Governance Uplift Program’ to provide stronger oversight of contract management, better data quality and reporting and stronger financial controls. Those changes affect the entirety of CTM, not just the regions affected by the accounting errors, the TMC said.
"With stronger foundations being put in place, our focus now is firmly on the business ahead and translating that to sustainable, profitable growth," Pedersen said.
While the UK’s Ministry of Defence has renewed its contract with the TMC, the New Zealand government last month suspended CTM from its centralised travel management framework, restricting it from tendering for government business. CTM’s lucrative multi-year contract with the Australian government — covering air, hotel and ground transportation booking services, traveller support and VIP programmes — is also due to expire next June.
Since the TMC’s accounting issues came to light, the UK and Australian governments have launched separate investigations into CTM’s accounts.
During Thursday’s earnings call, an analyst asked whether CTM had received any offers for a partial or full acquisition during the period. Chairman Ewen Crouch said the TMC remained subject to “disclosure obligations” while it was suspended from trading on the ASX, adding: “If we had something to disclose in relation to that, we reported nothing”.