Predicting a “brighter year ahead,” Expedia Group Inc. said Thursday that the impact of the omicron variant on travel was not as severe as previous COVID-19 disruptions.
Expedia Group’s EXPE, +0.29% total gross bookings were $17.5 billion in the fourth quarter, down 25% compared with the fourth quarter of 2019. The company said that was the lowest quarterly decline last year, when compared with pre-pandemic numbers.
“The travel industry and traveling public prove more resilient with each passing wave, and we continue to expect a solid overall recovery in 2022, barring a change in the trajectory of the virus,” Expedia Chief Executive Peter Kern said in a statement.
Despite slightly missing revenue expectations, Expedia shares rose about 4.75% after hours, after increasing 0.3% in the regular session to close at $197.52.
The company reported fourth-quarter net income of $276 million, or an adjusted $1.06 a share, adjusted for stock-based compensation and other costs. That compared with a loss of $412 million, or $2.64 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $2.28 billion from $920 million in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 80 cents a share on revenue of $2.29 billion.
For the full year, Expedia reported $72.43 billion in gross bookings and $8.6 billion in revenue. It posted a net loss of $269 million, or $1.80 a share. Adjusted earnings were $1.65 a share. Analysts had expected earnings of $1.33 a share on $8.63 billion in revenue.
Expedia stock has risen 9.3% year to date, compared with the S&P 500 Index SPX, -1.81%, which has fallen 5.5% so far this year.
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