Expedia Group Inc. on Thursday reported results that reflected the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the travel industry, with gross bookings and revenue each plunging 67% in the fourth quarter.
Shares of the Expedia EXPE,
The online travel company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $412 million, or $2.89 a share, compared with net income of $76 million, or 52 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The adjusted loss was $2.64 a share, adjusted for depreciation and amortization, restructuring and reorganizing charges and more. Revenue fell to $920 million from $2.75 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a loss of $1.94 a share on revenue of $1.1 billion.
“The fourth quarter brought signs of hope in the form of vaccine approvals, but rising cases across the globe and rolling shutdowns of various travel markets made an impact,” said Chief Executive Peter Kern in a statement. “As a result, Q4 did not show any real sequential progress other than some signs of modest improvement around the holidays that carried into the early part of 2021.”
Kern also said “the environment continues to be unpredictable.”
For the full year, Expedia reported a loss of $2.69 billion, or $19 a share, on $5.2 billion in revenue, compared with earnings of $6.15 a share on revenue of $12 billion in 2019. Analysts had expected $5.39 billion in revenue. Gross bookings fell 66% and revenue declined 57% in 2020.
Expedia shares have risen more than 12% so far this year, compared with a 4.25% rise by the S&P 500 Index SPX,
