Priceline reports bookings increase of 52.5%

May 11, 2010 | Online Travel

Priceline today reported its financial results for the 1st quarter 2010. Gross travel bookings for the 1st quarter, which refers to the total dollar value, generally inclusive of all taxes and fees, of all travel services purchased by consumers, were $3.0 billion, an increase of 52.5% over a year ago.

Priceline.com had revenues in the 1st quarter of $584.4 million, a 26.5% increase over a year ago. The Company’s international operations contributed revenues in the 1st quarter of $215.8 million, an 88.2% increase versus a year ago (approximately 79% on a local currency basis). Priceline.com’s gross profit for the 1st quarter was $319.1 million, a 53.2% increase from the prior year. The Company’s international operations contributed gross profit in the 1st quarter of $214.9 million, an 88.8% increase versus a year ago (approximately 80% growth on a local currency basis). The Company’s operating income in the 1st quarter 2010 was $87.9 million, a 105.2% increase from the prior year. Priceline.com had GAAP net income for the 1st quarter of $53.9 million or $1.06 per diluted share, which compares to $25.0 million or $0.53 per diluted share in the same period a year ago.

Pro forma EBITDA for the 1st quarter was $111.7 million, an increase of 75.3% over the prior year. Pro forma net income in the 1st quarter was $87.2 million or $1.70 per diluted share, compared to $1.09 per share a year ago. The high end of priceline.com’s guidance for the 1st quarter was $1.64 per diluted share and First Call analyst consensus for the 1st quarter 2010 was $1.66 per diluted share. The section below entitled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” provides a definition and information about the use of pro forma financial measures in this press release and the attached financial and statistical supplement reconciles pro forma financial information with priceline.com’s financial results under GAAP.

“The Company’s worldwide businesses were able to maintain gross booking growth over 50% in the 1st quarter, powered by strong growth in hotel room nights, which increased 57% over last year,” said Jeffery H. Boyd, priceline’s President and CEO. “We believe all of our brands continued to gain share in hotel reservations during the quarter. International local currency bookings growth was 73%, representing continued high rates of transaction growth and stabilizing hotel room rates. Domestic growth at 16% came in at the high end of our range of guidance despite weaker results in opaque airline tickets and rental cars tied to reduced capacity in those markets.”

Looking forward, Mr. Boyd said, “We are pleased with the strong growth reflected in our 2nd quarter guidance despite the impact of several negative external factors. The Iceland volcano caused widespread disruptions in air travel which resulted in a significant increase in hotel room cancellations for our Booking.com business. Civil unrest in Thailand has substantially impacted hotel room reservations in Thailand, which is a key market for Agoda and Booking.com’s Asia business. Lastly, sovereign debt concerns in Europe have resulted in a significant decline in the value of the Euro as compared to the U.S. dollar which adversely impacts our financial results as expressed in U.S. dollars.”

“These external factors notwithstanding, we are pleased to see some improvement in hotel occupancy and average daily rates which are hopefully signs of improved consumer demand as we enter the summer travel season. We continue to focus on growing our global hotel business by expanding into attractive geographic markets, adding hotel supply and integrating supply across our businesses. We also concentrate on effective marketing to build our brands while continuously improving our service to customers by adding content and innovative functionality. We believe the company’s worldwide hotel platform is well-positioned to build share in global online hotel reservations.”