Sabre saw its revenues increase by 21% in the first quarter of 2016, to $859.5 million.
The pace of growth was dramatically higher than the comparable quarter two years ago -- its first as a publicly traded company -- in May 2014, when total revenue, exclusive of Travelocity, was up only 7% to $661 million.
The company reported market share growth for its travel-network, or air global distribution system (GDS) business, in all regions, CEO Tom Klein said in a conference call.
In Europe, Middle East and Africa, the company had a "a terrific gain" in share in the first quarter, the company said. In APAC it saw a "return to growth", and in Latin America, it had a modest gain in market share. In North America it claimed low single-digit market share gains. Its market share average globally was 37%, it said.
The airline SabreSonic installed base had a 45% increase in passengers boarded, year-over-year.
Chief financial officer Rick Simonson said on an investor call:
"While the addition of American Airlines to the installed base contributed, the majority of this big increase was due to strong organic passengers boarded growth of 10% on a consistent carrier basis in the quarter."
The company thinks that over the next 24 to 36 months airline volume worth 650 million passengers will come up for bidding, and it is expecting to get its "fair share" of that up-for-renewal business.
Excluding the impact of consolidating Abacus, Sabre saw travel-network revenue growth of 7% in the quarter. Looking ahead with Abacus included, management thinks travel-network revenue will grow 13.5% to 14.5% over the full year.
Sabre continues to digest Trust International, its acquisition announced in November 2015. This acquisition will increase the geographic coverage Sabre can sell its hospitality software to, the company said.
The company believes it has real product differentiation in its central reservation system business from competitors and expects growth across hotel companies of all sizes.
About 70% of Sabre’s revenue continues to comes from its GDS service (mainly emphasizing airline inventory for agents). About 30% comes from its airline and hospitality solutions services, according to estimates by Morningstar analyst Dan Wasiolek.
Sabre Red's revamped workspace is expected to debut sometime after mid-May.
Update 4pm ET: A transcript of today's conference call has been posted, here.
Earlier: Sabre acquires Trust International for $154 million