CTM ‘Optimistic’ After Recent Recovery Surge

Corporate Travel Management’s revenue in the quarter ending June 30 hit nearly 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels, with the travel management company seeing “momentum [that] makes us optimistic for the future” during that period, CTM managing director Jamie Pherous said in the TMC’s earnings announcement.

The TMC said corporate travel demand in North America “remained strong” during the quarter, the last of its 2022 fiscal year, with revenues in the region hitting 73 percent of the same quarter in 2019. Those numbers take into account the acquisition of Travel and Transport in 2020, and Pherous said integration onto a single system should be complete by the end of the summer, which will give an additional boost to the region.

For the fiscal year, North America accounted for 56 percent of CTM’s total revenue and other income, according to Kevin O’Malley, the TMC’s CEO for North America.

In Europe, revenue during the quarter recovered to 86 percent of 2019 levels, which CTM attributed to a “combination of client wins, new contracts and broad recovery.” The TMC also noted Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the region hit 108 percent of pre-pandemic levels, the first region to surpass the 100 percent mark in that metric.

Revenue recovery in the Australia/New Zealand region reached 64 percent of 2019 levels. CTM reported the region had the most rapid recovery levels through the quarter, though revenue recovery lagged in part due to a lower mix of international travel. In June, when international travel became a bigger portion of the mix, revenue hit 74 percent of 2019 levels.

Asia revenue recovery continued to lag at 39 percent of pre-pandemic levels, particularly due to China, where borders still largely remain closed to international travel.

CTM claimed increased market share within the broader corporate travel market and a client retention rate of 97 percent. Pherous noted those clients who are being retained had fees that were either the same or increased.

“Clients are really valuing going-the-extra-mile services, and clients are prepared to pay for that,” he said.

CTM said it expects recovery to continue in the coming months through both additional market share gains and travel program recovery, with a May survey of CTM clients showing that 80 percent expect to spend as much or more as they did pre-Covid-19 in the 2023 fiscal year. The TMC projects it will reach full recovery in the 2024 fiscal year, based on current forecasts from the International Air Transport Association.

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