Amadeus says air bookings and passengers boarded are continuing to improve, building on its results from the first quarter of the 2020.
In earnings reported for April to June this year, Amadeus captured a revenue increase of €128 million to €624 million compared to the first quarter of the year.
EBITDA was down 75% to €145 million, representing a €92 million improvement on the first quarter.
Overall, Amadeus reported a loss for the quarter of almost €24 million, which is an improvement of almost €60 million on Q1.
In the second quarter, travel agency air bookings were down almost 67% to 47 million from 2019, representing an improvement of almost 12 percentage points over Q1 this year.
Comparing to 2019, passengers boarded within IT solutions were down almost 68%, but up 3% over Q1 2021.
Commenting on the earnings, Luis Maroto, president and CEO, described June as the “best performing month since the start of the pandemic.”
“In parallel to this gradual recovery, we remain committed to our cost optimization efforts and supporting our customers. In the coming months, we are optimistic that, as vaccination programs keep progressing, travel restrictions are lifted, and traveler sentiment continues to improve, this should translate into a more consistent and stronger recovery over time”.
Responding to questions from analysts on the value IATA's New Distribution Capability technology standard might bring to the company, Maroto says he feels it is here to stay.
"We are pleased with the evolution and have the capabilities and technology to really move this forward."
He adds that, despite NDC being in the market for many years, penetration is still low but he expects it to increase.
"With time we will not be talking about NDC any longer, there will be new technology to help you merchandize your products. The technology that is allowing NDC is here to stay but traction and penetration worldwide will take years."
Revenue for the distribution division was reported as almost €268 million, down 66% on 2019’s pre-pandemic figure.
Distribution made a loss of €16 million in Q2 2020 as the pandemic bit.
Amadeus says all regions reported an increase in air bookings in the second quarter of 2021 with North America and Western Europe showing the greatest improvement.
IT Solutions revenue decreased by 43% to €357 million compared to the same period in 2019.
Compared to Q2 2020, IT revenue saw an improvement of almost 30%. The company says its financial position as of the end of June 2021 is about €3.4 billion.