Investors reacted negatively to the latest financial results from Flight Centre and Helloworld, as both travel agencies faced challenges from cost-of-living pressures and falling airfare prices. Flight Centre’s shares dropped 11% and Helloworld’s plunged 22% on Wednesday following the announcement of disappointing profits.
Flight Centre reported a 6.5% drop in its average Australian international fare over the December half. Despite a 7% growth in underlying interim pre-tax profit, which reached $117 million, the result fell 7.9% short of market expectations. The company announced a fully franked 11¢ per share dividend to be paid on April 17.
Meanwhile, Helloworld’s first-half net profit fell by 32.4%, dropping to $10.8 million, as transaction volumes decreased by 6.9% to $2.1 billion. Helloworld will pay a fully franked 8¢ dividend on March 26.
