On the Beach hails record year of bookings

On the Beach hailed a record year of bookings on Wednesday, underpinned by a strong performance over the summer.

In an update for the year to the end of September 2024, the company said total transaction value rose 15% on the previous year to £1.2bn, with summer 24 year-on-year volume growth of 13%.

Meanwhile, adjusted pre-tax profit was in line with market expectations of £31m, it said, despite the group incurring significant one-off costs related to the Ryanair integration.

Chief executive Shaun Morton said: "Summer 24 has set a new record for On the Beach and our full year performance represents the third consecutive year of revenue growth while delivering improved operating leverage resulting in significant EBITDA and profit before tax growth.

"We executed on a number of strategic initiatives during the year, including the successful integration with Ryanair, the launch of selling package holidays in Ireland and continued enhancements to our platform capabilities. We did this through a period of flight price inflation and subsequent deflation, highlighting the benefits of On the Beach's asset light, low fixed cost operating model, delivering the best value for money to our customers reflected in our volume growth this year."

Looking ahead, Morton said winter 2024 volumes are currently 34% higher than the previous year as customers seek winter sun and enjoy the company’s long-haul destination packages.