Tripadvisor says bookings and revenue across its segments and products are down by more than 90% in late March year-on-year.
Reporting results for the first quarter of 2020, CEO Steve Kaufer says the trend continued through April, describing the situation as the “darkest days.”
Tripadvisor reported total revenue of $278 million for Q1, a decline of 26% year-on-year, while revenue for hotels, media and platform declined by 33% to $169 million.
Experiences and dining saw a slight increase in total revenue, up 4% to $83 million year-on-year.
Tripadvisor’s total adjusted EBITDA was down 55% to $40 million for the quarter, while hotels, media and platform declined 50% to $53 million.
Adjusted EBITDA for experiences and dining fared slightly better, with a loss of $19 million compared to a loss of $24 million year-on-year.
Net loss for the company for the quarter was $16 million.
Kaufer says the company is confident of a revival for travel as well as in a demand for its services.
“As was the case during past travel industry disruptions, Tripadvisor intends to play a critical role by actively supporting our consumers, our partners and our employees worldwide in the recovery and beyond.”
The company has already taken measures to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, including a workforce reduction of about 700 and the likelihood that its cost-reduction program will mean a further 200 employees will be laid off.
In addition, 22% of the workforce, or about 850 employees, has been furloughed, with the restaurant reservation platform the Fork most impacted.
Kaufer had already given up his base salary since March, while the board of directors agreed to give up their cash retainer and reduce their annual shares award.
Remaining employees in the United States have reduced their working week by 20%, and other markets are expected to follow suit.
These measures are on top of cost-reduction steps taken in Q1 which were laid out in the company’s February earnings report.
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In regard to its financial position, Tripadvisor says it had $798 million in cash at the end of March.
To further support its liquidity, the company has borrowed $700 million from its revolving credit facility and amended it to suspend the covenant until September 30.
Ernst Teunissen, chief financial officer, says:
“As a result of our concerted, prudent actions, we believe we have the liquidity and the revised financial covenants to withstand an extended period of business disruption.”
In a letter to shareholders, Kaufer and Teunissen say they expect Q2 to be worse than Q1 with “little to no revenue, and significantly negative EDITDA.”
They expect some revenue improvement in Q3 2020.