18 Nov 2016

eDreams Odigeo strategy overhaul pays modest dividends

European online travel agency group eDreams Odigeo has credited mobile activity and improvements to its business model for an uplift in revenue.

The company brought in €241 million in revenue in the six months ending September 30, an increase of 4% on the same period in 2015.

Adjusted EBITDA jumped by 22% to €54.1 million.

Revenue was flat with 0% growth in the second three-month segment of the half-year results.

The group, which includes the eDreams, GoVoyages and Opodo OTA brands, says its strategy to grow the business in non-air products has seen it grow bookings by 3%.

In particular, bookings from mobile devices soared by 37% year-on-year, with nearly three out of ten (29%) of all flight bookings now taking place via a device.

Forecasting for 2017, eDeams Odigeo is looking for revenue in the region of €463 million for the full year.

The group remains an affiliate of Booking.com for search and booking of hotels and other accommodation.

CEO Dana Dunne says its strategy of “price re-orientation and channel mix realignment” has led to a drop-off in growth in the group’s flight business.

“Having completed the first phase of our transformation programme in 2015-16 we are now implementing the second phase of our transformation which focuses on constantly improving the experience for our customers, using scale to improve our products and services to further drive longer term growth.”