Dublin-based hostel booking company Hostelworld has today reported higher bookings, revenues and operating profits for the six months to the end of June.
Hostelworld said its net bookings for the six month period rose by 9% to 3.7 million, on the back of record performances in Asia and Central America as more European customers travelled to these destinations.
Its half year net revenue increased by 1% to €46.4m, while it reported operating profits of €4m compared to a loss of €1.7m in the first half of 2023 - a 335% increase year on year.
The company said its net average booking value of €13.60 was down 10% compared to last year, driven by a greater proportion of Asian destination bookings and a slight increase in the proportion of solo customers.
It also noted that the proportion of bookings from social members increased to 80% from 66% in the first half of 2023.
Hostelworld said it expects to continue to see strong customer demand for lower cost destinations in Asia and other regions.
The company said it continued to see robust momentum in operating cash performance, with cash generation of €12.4m in the first half of 2024, up from €10.8m the same time last year.
"This strong performance has enabled the early repayment of the remaining AIB debt facility, well ahead of schedule, which represents another positive milestone for the business," the company said.
"Furthermore, we continue to deleverage the balance sheet having commenced the repayment of warehoused payroll taxes to the Irish Revenue Commissioners. Our financial position has been significantly strengthened as a result, with a reduction in our net debt from €12.3m as at 31 December 2023 to €2.6m as at 30 June 2024," it added.
Gary Morrison, Hostelworld's chief executive, said the company's strong growth in net bookings and even stronger growth in net margins was mainly driven by its highly differentiated social strategy.
"This performance, coupled with operating cost discipline, has translated directly into strong operating cashflow enabling us to fully repay our residual debt facility with AIB, two years ahead of schedule," the CEO said.
Mr Morrison said the company made good progress during the first half of 2024 on all aspects of its growth strategy.
"We have continued to provide our customers with enhanced social network product features, added more hostel inventory to our platform, and have continued to upgrade our platform towards a fully cloud native architecture," he added.
