Online travel agent Trip.com Group Ltd. (9961.HK; TCOM.US) said on Wednesday its second-quarter revenue rose 6% year-on-year to 15.66 billion yuan ($2.3 billion). But it posted a net loss of 2.46 billion yuan for the period, reversing a net profit of 4.85 billion yuan in the year-ago period.
The company attributed its revenue growth mainly to rebounding travel demand, while its swing to the red owed to a 5.18 billion yuan antitrust penalty imposed by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation. Excluding the penalty, the company earned second-quarter net income of 2.7 billion yuan.
By segment, the company’s accommodation reservation revenue rose 6% year-on-year to 6.58 billion yuan, while transportation ticketing revenue fell 1% to 5.35 billion yuan. Package-tour revenue increased 8% to 1.16 billion yuan, and corporate travel revenue grew 11% to 771 million yuan. Revenue from Trip.com’s international platform rose more than 50% in the quarter, while inbound travel revenue grew at a high double-digit rate.
For the first half of the year, Trip.com reported revenue of 31.87 billion yuan, up about 11.2% year-on-year, while its net income was 41 million yuan. On a non-GAAP basis, its first-half net income was 8.7 billion yuan, compared with 9.2 billion yuan a year earlier.
Trip.com’s stock opened lower on Wednesday in Hong Kong, but later reversed course and closed at HK$319.4 by the midday break, up 2.63%. The stock is down about 42% this year.
By Lee Shih Ta
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