HRG HAS REPORTED a 6 per cent rise in revenue for the first quarter of 2010 compared with the same period last year. The travel management company (TMC) said in an interim management statement that when "coupled with lower operating costs, this has produced a strong result for the quarter". HRG said trading conditions had "generally improved" since its last statement in May, with air travel and hotel occupancy rising. The TMC said client spending for the quarter was up by 19 per cent compared to the previous year.
It said there was also early evidence from selected clients of a return to premium travel, although the majority continue to seek help in tightly controlling costs ...
MEANWHILE, Carlson Wagonlit Travel reported a 13.2 per cent rise in transactions for the first six months of the year compared with the same period in 2009. During the six months, the global TMC said it handled a total of 29.4m transactions. Traffic for the first half of 2010 rose by 16.6 per cent and totalled $12.3bn.
The biggest growth area for CWT was in Latin America, with a 48.1 per cent year-on-year rise. There was 43.5 per cent increase in Asia Pacific and an 18.2 per cent rise in North America. But EMEA was slower to recover, according to CWT, with only a 7.7 per cent increase. CWT said that during the six month, it had picked up new business worth $781m while its client retention rate remained "strong" at 96 per cent.