Novaturas Group earned EUR 34.5 mln. in the first quarter
Novaturas Group, the leader in the Baltic tourism
market, has announced its results for the first quarter of 2024. In
January–March, the company generated revenues of EUR 34.5 mln. This
is EUR 3.7 mln. (10%) less than in the corresponding period of
2023. The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortisation) was EUR 316 thsnd.
In January–March, Novaturas Group served a total
of 35.7 thsnd. customers in the Baltic States (38 thsnd. in the
corresponding period last year).
The net profit of the company for January–March
amounted to EUR 8 thsnd. In the same period last year, it was EUR
1.57 mln. These changes are due to complex reasons: a lower demand
for Egypt and customer caution due to the military conflict in the
Middle East, as well as the changed competitive environment
resulting in the decline in profit margins. The company has also
recorded the rising operating and commission sales costs this year
in order to maintain competitive conditions for employees and
partners.
In addition, a large part of the profit for the
first quarter of 2023 was due to the decrease in the price of
aviation fuel that Novaturas has effectively used. Meanwhile, in
January–March this year, such favourable market conditions were not
available, which also led to a decline in profits.
Kristijonas Kaikaris, CEO of Novaturas, points
out that this year the company has been prompt to respond to
changes in travellers’ behaviour and has adapted its travel
programme accordingly. This has resulted in optimised operations
and a high load factor in all destinations offered by the company,
which was 97% on average during the given period.
“In the first quarter of this year, we
experienced a drop in demand for flights to Egypt, which is very
popular in the winter season. It is also worth mentioning that in
the Baltic outbound tourism market we have two new tour operators
that mainly focus on the most popular destinations across the
Baltic States, i.e. Turkey and Egypt, and naturally seek to compete
on the market with their price offers, which has partly affected
the changes in our profit margins. Profitability this year has also
been affected by increased costs. Finally, we have observed a
slightly weaker demand for travel in the Estonian market, compared
to Latvia or Lithuania,” says Mr Kaikaris.
He adds that with the widest range of
destinations and monitoring the changes in demand in the region,
the company has also offered alternatives to travellers, for
instance, holidays in favourite destinations such as Tenerife,
Madeira, the United Arab Emirates, as well as expanded the range of
ski trips by offering 4 destinations and trips to as many as 12
long-haul countries. Novaturas was also the first tour operator in
the region to launch its summer season, with flights to the newly
introduced Cyprus starting in mid-March and Turkey at the end of
March. It was this flexible response that helped navigate the
dynamic circumstances and offset the less favourable trends than
last year.
Orientation towards the development of
new services
In order to strengthen its position and sales
volumes, Novaturas intends to further improve the traveller
experience and introduce new services this year. The plan is to
offer more user-friendly tools for agencies and other business
partners, as well as to strengthen its own e-commerce channels. The
focus on technology and data analytics-based solutions remains a
strategic direction.
Novaturas will focus on projects that could increase the
competitiveness of the company, and envisages organisational
transformation processes, including improvement of customer
experience, strategic partnerships, and organisational
structure.
With the widest range of destinations in the region, Novaturas
will continue its diversification strategy and focus on
higher-margin destinations. The company is also ready to continue
to flexibly adapt its travel programme to the needs of travellers
and focus on operational efficiency.
“In the summer season, we offer 19 destinations
from Lithuania, 14 from Latvia and 15 from Estonia. We aim to make
the most of our diversified portfolio of destinations and compete
not only in popular summer destinations such as Turkey and Greek
islands, but also in resorts in Spain, Italy and Bulgaria, as well
as in Montenegro, which has become a business card of the company,
and in other destinations where we see greater potential. We
observe a growing demand for workation or incentive trips of
companies, and Novaturas is an exceptionally strong partner in this
area,” says Mr Kaikaris.
At the beginning of May, Novaturas launched early bookings for
the next winter season, and will introduce the full winter
2024/2025 programme as well as new destinations in June.
New aviation partners and improved
flight experience
Novaturas Group aims to be the first choice for
travellers by focusing even more on the quality of services and
systematically improving the flight experience. At the end of last
year, a long-term cooperation agreement was signed with Heston
Airlines, which has become the main flight partner in Estonia.
Through this partnership, Novaturas aims to
improve the punctuality of flights and the overall quality of
services, from hassle-free and safe flights to a state-of-the-art
environment and a higher level of in-flight catering services. The
first flights with Heston Airlines from Estonia started on 1 May,
and some of the flights with Heston Airlines will also be operated
from Lithuania and Latvia.
Heston Airlines operates a fleet of modern
Airbus A320 aircraft, which are only 7 years old, so this
cooperation will help reduce fuel consumption and minimise GHG
emissions during flights.
Novaturas also continues its partnership with
airBaltic, which has one of the youngest fleets in Europe, and has
announced that it will operate a part of its flights from Lithuania
to Turkey this summer season in cooperation with Turkish Airlines,
which will fly travellers not only from Vilnius, but also from
Kaunas Airport.
“Novaturas” group financials for Q1 2024 (EUR
000's):
|
Q1 2024 |
Q1 2023 |
Q1 2022 |
Revenue |
34 518 |
38 172 |
28 287 |
Gross profit |
4 453 |
5 958 |
2 524 |
EBITDA |
317 |
1 896 |
(522) |
Net profit (loss) |
8 |
1 576 |
(913) |
About the company Novaturas
Group is the largest and the only charter flights‘ local tour
operator in the Baltic States, offering summer and winter trips to
more than 30 destinations worldwide and more than 100 tours. Based
on audited data, in 2023 Novaturas Group recorded revenues of EUR
208,3 million and served 259 000 passengers in Lithuania, Latvia
and Estonia.
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