FAST NEWS: Trip.com’s profit rockets as hotel bookings soar

The latest: Leading online travel agent Trip.com Group Ltd. (9961.HK; TCOM.US) on Tuesday reported its net profit increased 14-fold year-on-year to 648 million yuan ($88.9 million) in the second quarter.

Looking up: The company’s domestic hotel bookings jumped 170% in the quarter, and were up over 60% compared to pre-Covid levels for the same period in 2019. As a result, its revenue soared 180% to 11.2 billion yuan during the quarter, up 29% from pre-Covid levels in 2019.

Take Note: The company’s outbound hotel and air ticket reservations during the period only recovered to around 60% of pre-Covid levels for the same period in 2019, as demand for overseas trips has yet to recover among Chinese travelers.

Digging Deeper: Like many travel- and tourism-related companies, Trip.com suffered big revenue hits at the height of the pandemic, and the company recorded losses in 2020 and 2021. But its business is rebounding with most countries’ reopening and the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions in China last December. The company’s revenue soared 152% in the first half of 2023 to 20.47 billion yuan, fueled by a surge in business from hotel reservations and transport ticketing. As a result, it recorded a net profit of 4.01 billion for the period, reversing a loss a year earlier.

Market Reaction: Trip.com’s Hong Kong shares fell on Tuesday morning to close down 4.7% at HK$314.2 by the midday break. The stock now trades at the upper end of its 52-week range.

Translation by A. Au

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