Distribution revenue almost halved at Amadeus in the first quarter of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic slammed traveler plans around the world.
The company's income from air tickets fell 48% from €162.6 million in the first quarter of 2019 to €85 million in the corresponding period this year.
Overall, revenue from distribution activities slumped by 46% (including hotel and other sectors) to €458 million in Q1 2020.
The impact of the coronavirus on other business segments at Amadeus has yet to be fully felt financially, with IT solutions dropping 0.3% year-over-year to €564 million.
The total number of passengers boarded through Amadeus systems dropped by 12% to 384 million.
The company announced a €300 million cost-cutting program in March, alongside securing a €1 billion financial package on top of its existing €1 billion “revolving credit facility.” It has €660 million in cash reserves.
The rolling nature of the coronavirus outbreak saw business in Asia Pacific and Western Europe hit first in the reporting quarter, Amadeus says. Total passengers boarded decreased by 17% and 17.5%, respectively during Q1.
North America increased by 10% over the same period, the Middle East and North Africa decreased 10%, Latin America decreased 13% and Central, Eastern and Southern Europe down 6%.
EBITDA for the first quarter declined 41% to €349 million between the first quarters in 2019 and 2020.
Luis Maroto, Amdeus president and CEO, says the industry virtually came to a halt by the end of March.
"This interrupted the strong financial performance we had registered in the beginning of 2020, with positive growth across all of our businesses in January.
"We are closely monitoring the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and will adapt our response to it as needed. We are confident in the resilience of the travel sector and in the underlying strength of our company, but the coming months will remain challenging for the whole sector".