Strong performance and growth of Distribution and IT Solutions businesses
Full year highlights (twelve months ended December 31, 2013)
- Revenue increased by 6.6%, to €3,103.7 million; EBITDA1 grew by 7.2%, to €1,188.7 million; and adjusted profit2 for the year rose to €619.5 million, up 7.8%.
- In the Distribution business, total air travel agency bookings increased by 6.5%, to 443.4 million, on the back of strong growth in North America (+38.1%) and Latin America (+12.5%).
- In the IT Solutions business, Passengers Boarded increased by 9.2%, to 615.7 million, with a 57.6% rise in Asia Pacific.
- Amadeus accelerated its move into new business areas with the acquisition of Newmarket International, a leading US-based Hotel IT provider, for USD 500 million.
Amadeus IT Holding, S.A., parent company of the Amadeus Group, a leading technology partner for the global travel industry, reports year-on-year financial and operating results for the full year of 2013 (twelve months ended December 31, 2013). Adjusted profit for the year grew 7.8% to €619.5 million. This was supported by an increase in revenue of 6.6%, to €3,103.7 million, and 7.2% growth in EBITDA, to €1,188.7 million.
Luis Maroto, President CEO of Amadeus, commented:
"Amadeus has maintained its record of delivering success both in revenues and profitability. Our transaction-based business model has continued to be resilient in the face of industry challenges, while our investment in R&D, which drives product evolution and portfolio expansion, has contributed to our continued growth.
"Even in the context of slow growth in the wider market, Amadeus continued to outperform the travel distribution industry and reinforce its leading position in the air distribution segment, with a market share increase to 40.1% in total air travel agency bookings. This was most apparent in North America, one of our strategic targets for expansion, where despite contraction in the region we achieved a 38.1% increase.
"Our commitment to growth in new regions was also evident in the IT Solutions business, where the number of Passengers Boarded in the Asia Pacific markets increased by 57.6%. The region became the second biggest market for the IT Solutions business, and this shift will continue as migrations of Asian carriers take place during 2014 and 2015.
"We continued to execute on our strategy of developing new business areas, and made particular progress in the airport and hotel segments. With the acquisition of Newmarket International, a leader in the Hotel IT industry, we have enhanced our presence in a key growth area for Amadeus. Meanwhile our airports unit made progress in the ground-handling area as well as signing key agreements with Copenhagen and Munich airports.
"Overall I am confident that Amadeus has the financial strength, the portfolio and the right strategy for continued success in the travel technology industry."
Financial highlights
Consolidated net financial debt was reduced to €1,210.7 million, as of December 31, 2013 (based on covenants' definition in senior credit agreement). This was a decrease of €284.5 million vs. December 31, 2012, reaching 1.01x the ratio of covenant net debt to the last twelve months' covenant EBITDA3
In December 2013, the Board of Directors extended the current dividend policy, consisting of a pay-out ratio of 40% to 50% of the consolidated profit (excluding extraordinary items). In particular, the Board of Directors proposed to increase the pay-out ratio to 50% for the year 2013, versus the 44.6% paid in 2012.
The full year results were supported by significant year-on-year performance during the fourth quarter. Revenue increased 9.5% to €741.7 million, EBITDA grew 9.9% to €239.7 million and adjusted profit rose 15.6%, to €108.3 million.
Business highlights
Distribution
- Revenue increased by 5.3%, to €2,317.8 million
- Air travel agency bookings rose 6.5%, to 443.4 million
- Market share expanded by 1.5 percentage points, reaching 40.1%
Amadeus continued to outperform the industry in a context of limited growth4. During the year, distribution contracts with airlines due for renewal were successfully extended, most notably with IAG (British Airways, Iberia, Iberia Express) and Air France-KLM. Content agreements were also signed with American Airlines, China Airlines, LATAM Airlines Group (including both LAN and TAM) and Thai Airways
Content available for travel agency subscribers continued to expand, as 10 new low cost carriers were added to the platform. EasyJet, the UK's largest airline per passengers carried, was the first carrier to become a light ticketing5 airline in the Amadeus system, a solution that improves the way in which travel agents access, book and provide service when selling the flights of low cost carriers flights. This development is expected to increase bookings with the new pricing, ticketing and booking functionality offering the same look and feel as for traditional or flag carriers. Low cost carriers continued to be an area of growth for Amadeus in 2013, with an increase in travel agency bookings of 21% during the year.
During the fourth quarter, Amadeus implemented its Amadeus Ancillary Services solution for Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines. With these additions, a total of 23 airlines distribute their ancillary services through the Amadeus travel agency channel using the solution across 62 countries.
The increase in market share, of 1.5 percentage points to 40.1%, was fueled by a rise of 38.1% in air travel agency bookings in North America, despite the negative growth of the industry in the region. This contributed to offset the contraction of the air travel agency booking industry in key markets for Amadeus in Western Europe (Germany, Spain and France).
Amadeus Air TA Bookings Figures in million | Full year | % of Total | Full year | % of Total | % Change | |||||
Western Europe | 187.9 | 42.4% | 188.7 | 45.3% | (0.4%) | |||||
Asia Pacific | 62.2 | 14.0% | 58.1 | 14.0% | 7.0% | |||||
Middle East and Africa | 57.7 | 13.0% | 56.4 | 13.5% | 2.4% | |||||
North America | 55.3 | 12.5% | 40.0 | 9.6% | 38.1% | |||||
CESE | 46.9 | 10.6% | 43.5 | 10.4% | 7.7% | |||||
Latin America | 33.5 | 7.6% | 29.8 | 7.1% | 12.5% | |||||
Total Air TA Bookings | 443.4 | 100.0% | 416.5 | 100.0% | 6.5% | |||||
IT Solutions
- Revenue increased by 10.8%, to €785.9 million
- Passengers Boarded strengthened 9.2% to total 615.7 million
- Amadeus continued to make strides in the growth of its new business units with the acquisitions of Newmarket International and UFIS
Airline IT: With 50.1% of total Passengers Boarded, Western Europe remained the biggest market for Amadeus Airline IT services. The biggest region of growth was Asia Pacific, with an increase of 57.6%, driven by the contribution of a number of Asian airlines migrated to the Amadeus Altéa Suite, Thai Airways among them. During 2013, Air France-KLM signed a long term e-Commerce agreement; Qatar Airways implemented the Amadeus Ticket Changer solutions, and SAS migrated to the Amadeus Revenue Management Solution.
At the end of the year, a total of 125 airlines were contracted for both Altéa Reservations and Altéa Inventory, 104 of which were contracted to use the full Altéa Suite. Based upon these contracts, Amadeus estimates that by 2015 the number of Passengers Boarded will be around 800 million, which would represent an increase of almost 30% vs. the 616 million passengers processed on the Altéa platform during 2013 or a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 14%.
Amadeus PB Figures in million | Full year | % of Total | Full year | % of Total | % Change | |||||
Western Europe | 308.6 | 50.1% | 295.9 | 52.5% | 4.3% | |||||
Asia Pacific | 109.2 | 17.7% | 69.3 | 12.3% | 57.6% | |||||
Middle East and Africa | 96.3 | 15.6% | 100.8 | 17.9% | (4.4%) | |||||
Latin America | 66.6 | 10.8% | 66.7 | 11.8% | (0.2%) | |||||
CESE | 35.1 | 5.7% | 31.2 | 5.5% | 12.4% | |||||
Total PB | 615.7 | 100.0% | 563.8 | 100.0% | 9.2% | |||||
Hotel IT: In December 2013, Amadeus announced the acquisition of US based Newmarket International for USD 500 million. The addition of Newmarket will bring a strong management team and talented workforce to Amadeus that will significantly strengthen the Group's expertise and experience in the hotel IT industry, a key target sector for future growth. It also adds established relationships with key customers in the hotel segment. Newmarket, which serves 22,000 unique properties in 154 countries, operates in the group and event management segment of the hotel industry, which is estimated to account for 30-40% of a full service hotel's revenue.
Airport IT: In the first quarter of 2014 Amadeus announced the acquisition of UFIS, a leading airport information technology player, significantly enhancing the company's position in the Airport IT industry. UFIS brings to Amadeus a complementary suite of airport technology solutions as well as a set of important customer relationships worldwide with specific emphasis on Asia, Middle East and Europe.
In June, the launch of a new suite of solutions for airport operations was announced, leading to the signature of two agreements with Munich Airport and Copenhagen Airport. Through these agreements, Amadeus will jointly work with the airports to develop and implement two new IT solutions: Amadeus Airport Sequence Manager and Amadeus Airport Fixed Resource Optimiser.
Summary financial information Figures in million euros | Full year | Full year | % Change | |||
KPI | ||||||
Air TA Market Share | 40.1% | 38.6% | 1.5 p.p. | |||
Air TA bookings (m) | 443.4 | 416.5 | 6.5% | |||
Non air bookings (m) | 59.2 | 60.7 | (2.5%) | |||
Total bookings (m) | 502.6 | 477.2 | 5.3% | |||
Passengers Boarded (m) | 615.7 | 563.8 | 9.2% | |||
Airlines migrated (as of December 31) | 114 | 109 | ||||
Financial results | ||||||
Distribution Revenue | 2,317.8 | 2,201.0 | 5.3% | |||
IT Solutions Revenue | 785.9 | 709.4 | 10.8% | |||
Revenue | 3,103.7 | 2,910.3 | 6.6% | |||
Distribution Contribution | 1,035.9 | 982.3 | 5.5% | |||
IT Solutions Contribution (2) | 550.7 | 497.1 | 10.8% | |||
Contribution | 1,586.6 | 1,479.4 | 7.2% | |||
EBITDA | 1,188.7 | 1,109.0 | 7.2% | |||
EBITDA margin (%) | 38.3% | 38.1% | 0.2 p.p. | |||
Adjusted profit (3) | 619.5 | 574.8 | 7.8% | |||
Adjusted EPS (euros) (4) | 1.39 | 1.30 | 7.6% | |||
Cash flow | ||||||
Capital expenditure | 411.2 | 348.9 | 17.9% | |||
Pre-tax operating cash flow (5) | 843.1 | 860.1 | (2.0%) | |||
31/12/2013 | 31/12/2012 | % Change | ||||
Indebtedness (6) | ||||||
Covenant Net Financial Debt | 1,210.7 | 1,495.2 | (19.0%) | |||
Covenant Net Financial Debt LTM Covenant EBITDA | 1.01x | 1.34x |
1. | Figures adjusted to exclude extraordinary costs related to the IPO, in 2012. | |
2. | For purposes of comparability, the IT Solutions contribution in 2013 has been adjusted to exclude extraordinary costs of €4.9 million associated with the acquisition of Newmarket in Q4 2013. Group EBITDA and EBITDA margin in 2013 include such costs, and are therefore not impacted by the reclassification of these costs as explained above. | |
3. | Excluding after-tax impact of the following items: (i) amortisation of PPA and impairment losses, (ii) changes in fair value and cancellation costs of financial instruments and non-operating exchange gains (losses) and (iii) extraordinary items related to the sale of assets and equity investments and, in 2012, the IPO. | |
4. | EPS corresponding to the Adjusted profit attributable to the parent company. Calculated based on weighted average outstanding shares of the period. | |
5. | Calculated as EBITDA less capital expenditure plus changes in our operating working capital. | |
6. | Based on the definition included in the senior credit agreement covenants. | |
Notes to the editors:
Amadeus is a leading provider of advanced technology solutions for the global travel industry. Customer groups include travel providers (e.g. airlines, hotels, rail and ferry operators, etc.), travel sellers (travel agencies and websites), and travel buyers (corporations and travel management companies).
The Amadeus group employs around 10,000 people worldwide, across central sites in Madrid (corporate headquarters), Nice (development) and Erding (operations), as well as 71 local Amadeus Commercial Organizations globally.
The group operates a transaction-based business model.
Amadeus is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange under the symbol "AMS.MC" and is a component of the IBEX 35 index.
To find out more about Amadeus please visit www.amadeus.com.
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1 | EBITDA adjusted to exclude extraordinary items related to the IPO in 2012. | |
2 | Excluding after-tax impact of the following items: (i) amortisation of PPA and impairment losses, (ii) changes in the fair value and cancellation costs of financial instruments and non-operating exchange gains (losses) and (iii) extraordinary items related to the sale of assets and equity investments and, in 2012, the IPO. | |
3 | These figures do not include the USD 500 million of additional debt arranged to finance the acquisition of Newmarket International, announced on December 18, 2013, but finalised during February 2014. Proforma of this acquisition, the ratio of debt to the last twelve months' EBITDA would be of 1.3x | |
4 | The air travel agency booking industry registered a 2% growth in 2013. | |
5 | 'Light ticketing' is an evolution of the ticketless access level offered to low-cost hybrid carriers to help standardize the travel agency work flow (availability/pricing/booking/end of transaction/reporting) via the introduction of a virtual ticket number. |
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or
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