LEI:213800OC94PF2D675H41
Hostelworld Group plc ("Hostelworld" or
the "Group")
Full Year Trading Update for Year ended
31 December 2024
Adjusted EBITDA delivery in line with
consensus and return to net cash
Hostelworld is pleased to provide an update on
trading for the period 01 Jan 2024 to 31 Dec 2024.
Key
highlights:
·
Net bookings totalled 6.9m (+6% year
on year), driven by record booking performances in Asia and Central
America
·
Net average booking value of €13.21,
(-8% year on year), as a result of a shift in
consumer demand towards lower cost destinations
·
Net revenue1 totalled €92.0m (-1%
year on year)
·
Direct marketing as a percentage of
revenue2 totalled
46% (down 4% from 50% in FY 2023), resulting in a net margin growth
of +7% YoY
·
FY 2024 adjusted EBITDA of c. €21.8m
(+19% year on year) and an adjusted EBITDA
margin of 24% (20% in FY 2023)
·
Closing cash position of €8.2m and a net cash position of
€2.0m, with all bank debt repaid in full
1 Net Revenue is gross revenue
less cancellations, deferred revenue, rebates and accounting
adjustments
2 Gross revenue less
cancellations
Gary Morrison,
Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"We achieved a
net bookings growth rate of 6% driven primarily by growth in
bookings from UK and European travellers to lower cost destinations
in Asia, especially in the first half of the year at +43% YoY and
+31% on a full year basis. This growth was partially offset by
weaker demand for higher cost destinations in Europe throughout the
year.
These trends
resulted in an 8% decrease in net average booking values
year-on-year which reduced revenue growth for the year, as
previously communicated to the market in our trading update on 15
October 2024. As we exited the year, booking values returned to
growth driven primarily by bed price inflation in
Asia.
Our app-based
social strategy has continued to drive growth in the proportion of
bookings made by Social Members (80% in FY 2024 vs 67% in FY 2023)
and we saw good growth in App bookings (+16% YoY), contributing to
a 7% YoY growth in net margin. Our continued focus on tight cost
control has resulted in increased operating leverage, with a 19%
increase in adjusted EBITDA year-on-year.
We retired our
three-year debt facility two years ahead of schedule and returned
to a net cash position in the third quarter of 2024, providing a
solid foundation for our next phase of growth.
We will
provide a detailed growth strategy and capital allocation update in
the second quarter."
The Group will report its full year results for
the year ended 31 December 2024 on 20 March 2025.
For further information please
contact:
Hostelworld
Group plc
Corporate@hostelworld.com
Gary Morrison, Chief Executive
Officer
Caroline Sherry, Chief Financial
Officer
David Brady, Head of Commercial
Finance
Sodali &
Co
hostelworld@sodali.com
Eavan Gannon
Tel:
+44 (0) 20 7250 1446
About Hostelworld
Group
Hostelworld Group PLC is a ground-breaking
social network powered Online Travel Agent ("OTA") focused on the
hostelling category, with a clear mission to help travellers find
people to hang out with. Our mission statement is founded on the
insight that most travellers go hostelling to meet other people,
which we facilitate through a series of social features on our
platform that connect our travellers in hostels and cities based on
their booking data. The strategy has been extraordinarily
successful, generating significant word of mouth recommendations
from our customers and strong endorsements from our hostel
partners.
Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Ireland,
Hostelworld is a well-known trusted brand with almost 230
employees, hostel partners in over 180 countries, and a
long-standing commitment to building a better world. To that end,
our focus over the last few years has been on improving the
sustainability of the hostelling industry. In particular, over the
last two years we have commissioned independent research to
validate the category's sustainability credentials and recently
introduced a hostel specific sustainability framework which
encourages our hostel partners to move to even more sustainable
operations and also provides the data points for our customers to
make more informed decisions about where they stay. In addition,
our customers are now able to offset their trip's carbon emissions
should they wish to do so, and we have maintained our 'Funding
Climate Action' label awarded by South Pole.
Disclaimer
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These
statements relate to the future prospects, developments and
business strategies of Hostelworld. Forward-looking statements are
identified by the use of such terms as "believe", "could",
"envisage", "estimate", "potential", "intend", "may", "plan",
"will" or variations or similar expressions, or the negative
thereof. Any forward-looking statements contained in this
announcement are based on current expectations and are subject to
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by those statements. If
one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if
underlying assumptions prove incorrect, Hostelworld's actual
results may vary materially from those expected, estimated or
projected. Any forward-looking statements speak only as at the date
of this announcement. Except as required by law, Hostelworld
undertakes no obligation to publicly release any update or
revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this
announcement to reflect any change in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statements are based after the time
they are made.
