Trip.com Group operations income up 52% as company begins new chapter

New name, same financial growth.

Trip.com Group ( formerly Ctrip ) posted a 52% year-over-year increase in income from operations to $314 million, according to the company’s unaudited financial results for the third quarter of 2019.

Operating margin reached 21% for the quarter, topping the 16% mark for the same period in 2018.

The Shanghai-based OTA, which recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary, reported a 50% year-over-year growth rate in its international hotel business (excluding Greater China).

It was also the 12th consecutive quarter of triple digit growth for international air ticketing volume.

Says CEO Jane Sun: “We are encouraged by the performance of our international business.”

Net revenue grew 12% year-over-year to $1.47 billion, narrowly missing analyst expectations of $1.48 billion.

Accommodation revenue grew 14% to $576 million, which the company attributed to its expansive global reach and product portfolio.

Revenue from packaged tours increased 19% to $229 million, driven by a jump in traffic generated from offline stores.

The area with the most growth in the quarter was corporate travel, which rose 26% to $47 million.

Transportation ticketing (air and ground) rose 3% in the quarter to $521 million.

Outlook

In a call to discuss earnings, Sun highlighted several recent achievements – including becoming the first OTA in China to launch a voice guide and its strategic partnership with TripAdvisor , which was announced last week.

“Through this partnership, we will gain access to TripAdvisor's hundreds of millions of online reviews," says Sun.

“Our customers will have great confidence in what they are going to book through our platform and have a more comprehensive idea of what to expect upon their arrival.”

Along with the partnership and the new Trip.com name, the company is hoping to expand its reach into new markets.

However, Sun says that “only a portion of the functionality on our Chinese app is available for global users.

“We will work hard to increase the functionality and make the [global] Trip.com app as comprehensive as the Chinese version.”

In the third quarter, sales and marketing decreased by 8% - the only area to report a decline in spending.

Sun says that the company is focused more on “ROI-driven marketing strategies both domestically and internationally” and its strength tends to be “mobile or app-based” marketing channels.

Overall, Sun says that Trip.com Group “will continue to be laser focused on business fundamentals.”

“We are pleased with our past achievements and we are even more excited about what to accomplish in the future.”