Corporate Travel Management has seen “strong demand” for business travel despite current capacity constraints and is “optimistic” about the prospects for 2023.
The Australian-based travel management company said its European operation had benefited from a combination of new client wins, alongside a “broad recovery” of travel in the region. CTM is ranked as the fifth largest TMC in Europe in BTN Europe’s list of the continent’s leading TMCs.
CTM recorded a 94 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue to Aus$389 million (€266 million) for the financial year to 30 June 2022, compared with its 2021 results. The TMC said it was recovering “faster than broader corporate travel market through increased market share and 97 per cent client retention”.
The company also made “underlying” ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of Aus$59.8 million (€41 million) for the 2021-22 financial year, compared with a loss of Aus$7.2 million (€4.9 million) in the previous year.
CTM managing director Jamie Pherous said: “Our customers are embracing the opportunity to return to face-to-face connectivity in a post-Covid world.
“Following the removal of most border and travel restrictions globally, the fourth quarter momentum makes us optimistic for the future, and we are pleased that the business has successfully translated that momentum into earnings.
“CTM is a different business than it was prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. We are larger, more diverse and more relevant to our market globally. This gives us an exciting platform from which to continue our organic growth trajectory in 2023 and beyond.”
In Europe, CTM’s revenue doubled in the last financial year as it increased from Aus$42 million (€29 million) in 2021 to Aus$83.9 million (€57.5 million) to 2022.
“Demand is expected to strengthen after the summer vacation period as key clients go back to offices,” said CTM in a statement about its European operations. “This region is also winning significant new clients into 2023.”
CTM said its group revenue in June 2022 reached 74 per cent of 2019’s average monthly level, with forward bookings for September “strong” in both Europe and North America. The company is currently “assuming” a full recovery to pre-Covid levels in its 2024 financial year.
The TMC added it was “confident of improving corporate travel demand” in its new financial year, with both capacity constraints and the reopening of China to travellers being “progressively resolved”.