Flight Centre Travel's FY23 results indicate a landmark year in corporate travel sector

Flight Centre Travel Group announces a 96% YOY growth and breaking previous TTV records. The results underline the company’s strategic focus on technology, customer retention, and innovative solutions, making FLT a dominant force in the global corporate travel industry.

Flight Centre Travel Group has announced its EOFY results to the ASX. FLT’s corporate travel business continued to out-perform, comfortably out-pacing broader industry recovery and delivering record TTV during FY 23. The $ 11 billion FY23 result represented 96% YOY growth (FY22: 5.6 billion) and an almost 25% increase on the previous TTV record (FY19: $ 8.9 billion).

Bertrand Saillet, Managing Director, FCM Asia commented, “FCM Asia has had a roaring performance in corporate travel, breaking 2019’s TTV record despite China being closed until January 2023. This resulted in a strong performance in H2, post China’s opening, with a 36% growth over H1.”

“We gained market share in Asia through material key customer wins across the region plus, a retention rate of more than 98% amongst existing customers.”

“Our investments in technology enabled us to build an FCM Platform unique to India and China, allowing us to offer technology on par with market expectations whilst offering the best customer experience. Hence, we have won Asian-based businesses which positions FCM as the TMC of choice in the region.”

“With a significant year-on-year decrease in expense margins, we are very well positioned for FY2023 and are working closely with our customers, suppliers and partners.”

Flight Centre Travel Group records strong profit turnaround during 2023 fiscal year

Strong recovery in improved trading conditions during 2023 fiscal year (FY23)

112% total transaction value (TTV) growth to $22billion – 2nd strongest result achieved
Circa $485million year-on-year turnaround in underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation & amortisation (EBITDA) to $301.6million

During FY23, the company successfully executed its key global strategies which included:

Grow to Win: This strategy has been instrumental to FLT outpacing broader industry recovery in the $US1.4trillion global business travel sector through high customer retention and large volumes of new account wins. FLT’s corporate TTV exceeded pre-COVID levels in June 2022, some 2 years ahead of anticipated industry recovery based on Global Business Travel Association projections and grew strongly again during FY23

FLT has continued investment in important growth drivers such as:

Technology: FCM corporate platforms drive Flight Centre brand’s omnichannel evolution
Innovation: By investing in new ways to deliver a better customer experience and achieve sales and savings objectives, leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning and robotic process automation (RPA)
Strengthen Product: Strengthening product (content) aggregation capabilities to deliver corporate customers the widest airfare range as airlines invest heavily in new distribution models, including New Distribution Capability (NDC)

Comfortably outpacing industry recovery in the global corporate travel sector

FLT’s corporate travel business continued to out-perform, comfortably out-pacing broader industry recovery and delivering record TTV during FY23
The $11billion FY23 result represented 96% YOY growth (FY22: $5.6billion) and an almost 25% increase on the previous TTV record (FY19 $8.9billion)
New TTV milestones were established in all geographic segments, with Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) business topping its previous record by 59%, Asia by 24%, the Americas by 15.6% and Australia-New Zealand (ANZ) by 10.5%
The Americas business was FLT’s largest corporate operation, generating 31% of group corporate TTV, just ahead of ANZ (30%), EMEA (28%) and Asia (11%)
Corporate transaction volumes also exceeded pre-COVID levels – well ahead of the estimated industry-wide recovery of 70-75% of FY19 transaction levels – with growth again driven organically through high customer retention rates and a large pipeline of global account wins for both FCM (large market sector) and Corporate Traveller (SMEs/start-ups)
FCM secured new, contracted accounts with annual spending in the order of $ 1.6 billion, with wins typically coming from competitors. More than half of Corporate Traveller’s wins (uncontracted) were previously unmanaged accounts
In terms of FY23 EBITDA, the business delivered a $190 million underlying profit, an almost 3000% YOY improvement (FY22: $6 million)

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Theodore Koumelis

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