Leading online travel agent Trip.com Group Ltd. (TCOM.US; 9961.HK) on Thursday reported its revenue rose 21% year-on-year in the fourth quarter to 15.4 billion yuan ($2.24 billion), as all of its four main categories recorded double-digit growth.
Revenue from the company’s accommodations business rose 21% during the quarter year-on-year to 6.3 billion yuan, accounting for about 40% of the total. Quarterly transportation ticketing revenue rose 12% year-on-year to 5.4 billion, while package tour revenue rose 21% to 1.1 billion yuan. Corporate travel revenue rose 15% year-on-year during the quarter to 808 million yuan.
The company’s fourth-quarter profit nearly doubled to 4.3 billion yuan from 2.2 billion yuan a year earlier, boosted by investment gains.
Trip.com also announced the resignation of co-founders Fan Min and Ji Qi from its board, and Fan’s resignation as company president. The departures come about a month after China’s market regulator launched an investigation into Trip.com for anti-competitive behavior. The company said it is actively communicating with the regulator, and its business operations remain normal.
New York-listed shares of Trip.com were down 4.3% in after-market trading on Wednesday. The stock is down 26% this year, much of that after the launch of the anti-competitive investigation in mid-January.
By Doug Young
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