ASX All Ords stock Helloworld Travel Ltd (ASX: HLO) has dropped sharply on Wednesday following the release of its H1 FY25 results.
Shares in the travel company are fetching $1.64 apiece at the time of writing, 20% in the red as the market takes in its results.
Let's see what was posted.
ASX All Ords stock drops after mixed first-half
Key results from Helloworld's first-half FY25 earnings:
- Total Transaction Value (TTV) declined by 6.9% to $2.1 billion
- Revenue fell by 7.6% to $103.8 million
- Pre-tax profit decreased by 20% to $27.2 million on a margin of 26%
- Net profit dropped 32.4% to $10.8 million
- Earnings per share (EPS) decreased by around 30% year over year to 7.1 cents
- Declared an 8 cents per share interim dividend, up 60% from the previous period
What else happened in H1 FY25?
Helloworld shares had a challenging period on the chart during the first half. But the ASX All Ords stock also faced a "challenging fiscal environment in Australia".
This includes "cost of living increases impacting demand for leisure travel and reductions in airfares pushing flight TTV downwards across the period".
Consequently, TTV and revenues were down by 7% and around 7.5% year over year, respectively.
As a result, underlying pre-tax profits came in around $7 million lower compared to last year at $27 million,
Segment-wise, the retail division launched its "Loyalty Shares Program", and delivered its "Hellloword" TV show on the Nine TV network.
Meanwhile, the wholesale segment saw "positive results with strong demand for travel to mid-haul destinations", whereas the cruise division saw "overall higher yields" over the summer.
The wholesale division also launched its luxury brand, Viva Gold.
The board also declared an interim dividend of 8 cents per share, payable on March 26. This may or may not impact the ASX All Ords stock.
What did management say?
Andrew Burnes AO, CEO of Helloworld, acknowledged the challenges but was also constructive of what's to come.
Our performance across the first half reflects a challenging fiscal environment in Australia with cost of living increases impacting demand for leisure travel and reductions in airfares pushing flight TTV downwards across the period.
However, we have continued to invest in our business, growing our technology options and expanding our wholesale product range while enhancing our core capabilities around ticketing and air consolidation. Despite the short-term challenges, we will continue to leverage our industry knowledge and drive long term shareholder value across the period ahead…
..Looking ahead we are seeing strong forward bookings over the remainder of 2025. The business has balance sheet strength, no external bank borrowings and strong liquidity that positions the Company for long term sustainable growth.
What's next?
Looking to FY25, management forecasts underlying pre-tax earnings of $56 million to $62 million.
It also mentioned a "strong forward bookings for calendar 2025", and didn't rule out the possibility of making acquisitions. Per the company:
Management are focused on medium to long term value creation. HLO continues to invest to strengthen our agent and advisor networks; to target earnings-accretive core business acquisitions; leverage AI to improve productivity and efficiency and to benefit from Australian and New Zealand economic growth.
ASX All Ords stock snapshot
After posting a mixed set of H1 FY25 results before the open, this ASX All Ords stock is in the red today.
Zooming out, Helloworld Travel shares are down nearly 40% in the past year.
