10:22 | 03.07.2008
DGAP-News: hotel.de reports further sharp growth in booking volumes
hotel.de AG / Miscellaneous
03.07.2008
Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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hotel.de reports further sharp growth in booking volumes
Nuremberg, 03 July 2008* – hotel.de AG, one of the leading online hotel
reservation services worldwide, performed strongly in the 2nd quarter as
well. The company increased its booking volumes to a new quarterly record
of Euro 107.8 million, up 53.1% on the same period in the previous year.
The measures initiated over the past months to increase booking volumes
have led to more dynamic growth, especially in Germany.
France posts substantial growth of around 70%
Total booking volumes in the months of April to June (volume of
reservations made in the 2nd quarter) rose from Euro 70.4 million in the
equivalent period last year to Euro 107.8 million. The international
business, which grew by 61.7% to Euro 50.1 million, accounted for 47% of
total bookings in the 2nd quarter already. The most rapid growth was
reported by the French business, which grew by around 70%. hotel.de
nevertheless also stepped up the pace of growth in its German business,
which expanded by 46.4%. In absolute figures, bookings in Germany grew from
Euro 39.5 million in the 2nd quarter of the previous year to Euro 57.8
million. ‘Even though we have once again reported very high year-on-year
growth rates both in Germany and abroad, our figures would have been even
better had it not been for the EURO 2008 football championship’, commented
Dr. Heinz Raufer, CEO of hotel.de, with regard to the figures. ‘Our private
customer business benefited from additional bookings due to the
championship. However, this major sporting event also led numerous business
customers to postpone travel.’
Higher sales growth expected for 2nd quarter
Given the sharp growth in commissionable net check-out volumes, which rose
by 43.6% to Euro 94.5 million (volume of commissionable accommodation
actually taken up in 2nd quarter), the Management Board expects to see
stronger sales growth than in the 1st quarter of 2008. The company will
publish its figures for the 2nd quarter and for the first six months of
2008 on 14 August. In view of the measures already initiated to increase
booking figures and the margin, Raufer expects sales for the year as a
whole to grow to between Euro 34.0 million and Euro 36.0 million and to see
substantial growth in EBIT and annual net income. The CEO is pleased by the
prospects for his company. ‘With sales expected to rise by between 31% and
39%, we are growing almost twice as fast as the online market, whose growth
is estimated at 15% to 25%’.
* The booking figures quoted correspond to the data query status on 01 July
2008.
hotel.de AG
hotel.de AG with its international brands hotel.info and TravelRes runs a
free of charge hotel reservation service for companies and private users on
www.hotel.de, www.hotel.ch and www.hotel.info. The company offers 210,000
hotels worldwide to be booked online. Since January 2007, hotel.de has also
been offering conferences. Compared to other booking channels, customers
benefit from considerable cost savings (on average 40% for business
customers). Additionally, all available rates for every single hotel are
always displayed, so that the customer can choose the lowest or
best-fitting rate (’Best-Buy’). Further, all bookings via hotel.de are sent
right into the hotel’s computer – making a reservation fast, safe and
reliable. This is enabled by hotel.de/TravelRes’ unique integration of the
hotels’ central reservation systems (so-called CRS) under one consistent
user surface. Well-known companies, such as Procter & Gamble, SAP AG, Texas
Instruments Inc. And Ernst & Young AG already use the hotel.de/TravelRes
corporate application.
hotel.info
hotel.info is the international brand of hotel.de AG. This brand was
established for pushing ahead its expansion into the European countries. In
order to acquire customers and hotels abroad, offices in London, Paris and
Barcelona have been set up, to be followed by other important countries.
The strong customer loyalty and the high ratio of business customers
facilitate hotel.info’s entry into the new markets as many foreign-based
subsidiaries or parent enterprises of German companies contracted by
hotel.de already have been using hotel.info. The aim is to establish
hotel.info as the leading online hotel reservation service for business as
well as private customers in the foreign markets mentioned and – step by
step – in Europe as a whole.
Press contact
hotel.de AG
Wibke Garbarukow
Hugo-Junkers-Str. 9
D-90411 Nürnberg
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)911-59832-0
Fax: +49-(0)911-59832-11
presse@hotel.de
www.hotel.de
Haubrok Investor Relations GmbH
Thomas Vormann
Kaistr. 16
D-40221 Düsseldorf
Germany
Phone.: +49 (0)211-30126-0
Fax: +49 (0)211-30126-172
t.vormann@haubrok.de
www.haubrok.de
03.07.2008 Financial News transmitted by DGAP
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Language: English
Issuer: hotel.de AG
Hugo-Junkers-Str. 9
90411 Nürnberg
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)911 5983 2270
Fax: +49 (0)911 5983 211
E-mail: garbarukow@hotel.de
Internet: www.hotel.de
ISIN: DE0006910938
WKN: 691093
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (General Standard);
Freiverkehr in Düsseldorf, München, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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