Earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at the online travel agent focused on hostelling, Hostelworld, rose 88% in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year.
The company said adjusted EBITDA came in at €9.6m compared to €5.1 in the January to June period of 2023, with EBITDA margin rising from 11% to 21%.
Net revenue was up 1% at €46.4m, driven by a 9% increase in net bookings to 3.7m as a result of record activity in Asia and Central America.
However, net average booking value fell 10% to €13.60 as a result of a greater proportion of Asian destination bookings and a slight increase in the proportion of solo customers.
The details were contained in a trading update from the Dublin based company ahead of its half year results on August 8th.
"I am very pleased with our performance for the year to date, driven by strong consumer demand for low cost destinations in Asia and Central America," said Gary Morrison, Group Chief Executive Officer.
"Over the balance of the year, we expect consumer demand for low-cost destinations to continue, resulting in revenue growth lagging net bookings growth on a FY basis."
Operating costs for the half year came in at €12.5m, a drop of 2% year on year.
"I am also pleased that marketing expense as a proportion of revenue has improved significantly YoY resulting in a 23% increase in net margin YoY driven primarily by our Social Strategy, despite the significant growth in lower cost destinations driving lower ABV's," Mr Morrison said.
"This net margin growth coupled with our continuing focus on cost has delivered an 88% increase in adjusted EBITDA YoY, which has enabled us to fully repay our residual debt facility with AIB, well ahead of schedule."
The company said it had a closing cash position of €5m and a net debt position of €2.6m, with an AIB debt facility repaid in full.
"Looking ahead, I remain very confident in our growth strategy and that we are well positioned, well financed and firmly on track to deliver against our objectives outlined in our Capital Markets Day presentation in November 2022," said Mr Morrison.
