The Helloworld Travel Ltd (ASX: HLO) share price has been flying under the radar.
In the past month, shares in the travel agency group have surged more than 36%. At the time of writing, they are trading 1.4% higher for the day at $2.18.
Let's take a look at what's been fuelling the Helloworld share price.
Helloworld share price propelled by travel hopes
Along with the broader travel sector, shares in Helloworld are flying higher on renewed hopes of travel in the near future.
Despite the Delta variant of COVID-19 causing major domestic and international travel disruptions, investors have been looking towards a vaccinated future.
As a result, investors have flocked to travel shares as the resumption of domestic and international travel looms. This has helped to push up the Helloworld share price.
The effects of border closures and travel restrictions were recently reflected in the company's full-year report for FY21.
How did Helloworld perform in FY21?
Late last month, Helloworld released preliminary un-audited results for the year ended 30 June 2021.
This was followed by the company's annual report, released earlier this week.
For FY21, Helloworld reported a statutory after-tax loss of nearly $36 million.
The travel agency group revealed it had lost 272 agencies over the past 15 months as lockdowns took their toll on the company.
Highlights from the company's full-year report included;
- Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) loss of $14.1 million. This was at the low end of the range indicated in the Quarter 3 trading update ($14 million to $16 million).
- FY21 underlying loss before tax of $37.8 million after one-off costs of $11.7 million.
- $131.0 million cash balance at 30 June 2021.
Helloworld's total transaction values (TTV) tanked 78.4% for the financial year to $1.08 billion.
The Helloworld share price jumped on the back of the result and has been climbing ever since.
The company was unable to provide guidance for FY22, due to the uncertainty around the lifting of border restrictions and travel bans.
However, the travel agency did note that strong demand for travel during periods of open travel reflected pent-up consumer demand.
As a result, Helloworld noted the company was focusing on vaccine rollouts to determine the re-opening of domestic and international borders.
Snapshot of the Helloworld share price
The Helloworld share price has reflected the company's challenging trading conditions in 2021.
Despite shares in the travel agency rallying in the past month, they remain around 13% lower since the start of the year. However, they have gained around 18% in the past 12 months.
