Sabre hopes to achieve double-digit growth in distribution bookings and central reservation system transactions in 2025, the company said as it reported fourth quarter and full-year results for 2024.
The company posted revenue of $715 million for Q4 up from $687 million in Q4 2023. Revenue for the full year was $3 billion versus $2.9 billion in 2023.
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Operating income hit $57 million for the quarter and $286 million for the full year. Net loss was $75 million in Q4 compared to $96 million year over year. Full year net loss of $279 million for the full year was an improvement on 2023’s figure of $542 million.
Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $115 million up from $96 million year over year. Full-year EBITDA was $517 million, up from $337 million in 2023.
The company attributed gains to factors including growth in air and hotel bookings, lower technology expenses related to cloud migration and a decrease in labor costs.
"Sabre’s performance this quarter and for full year 2024, along with our expectations for 2025, highlights the continued progress we are making against our strategy,” said Kurt Ekert, president and CEO of Sabre. “We delivered solid revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth, reflecting strong momentum.”
"Our team achieved key product development milestones and secured meaningful commercial wins, accelerating our growth trajectory. We believe the success of our strategy — focused on delivering an end-to-end travel commerce platform and intelligent retailing solutions — positions us to achieve double-digit year-on-year growth in both distribution bookings and CRS transactions in 2025. We are excited about the opportunities ahead and believe that our technology, innovation, and talent will drive long-term value for our customers and stakeholders,” he said.
During an earnings call, Sabre chief financial officer Mike Randolfi said the company had signed more than 30 million new air segments which will be the biggest drive of air distribution growth in 2025.
Ekert also called out an as yet unnamed North American customer, with 25 million air segments and strong in credit card redemption and loyalty, which is currently in the implementation phase and is expected to be “fully at scale this year.”
Later, in an interview with PhocusWire, Ekert said Sabre is transitioning from a turnaround phase to a growth phase for the company.
He also spoke about the company achieving a balance in its investment in new initiatives such as Mosaic and existing systems.
"I think we're finding that right balance. But if you look at what we're doing from an innovation perspective, much of that is building on the core. It's not like we're going into new lines of business that we don't play in today. Sabre mosaic is a great example because it's modular, it's not going to be an all or nothing proposition to an airline to say you have to hard cut over from SabreSonic to Sabre Mosaic tomorrow. It can be a gradual process over a four or five year period."
He also said the company has "shifted into investment mode versus more defensive mode and that's allowing us to play more offense in the marketplace."
Ekert discussed the rapid pace of technological development and said Sabre is "not immune from the reality" of the technology industry's innovate or die mantra.
"When you look near term, the next couple of quarters, commercial and operational execution is what's going to matter most in terms of driving performance," he said. "But over the long term as we become a proper technology platform, or proper software company, it's really about our ability to innovate at pace, to deliver meaningful capabilities to the marketplace. That is the most important thing strategically that we need to do. The market will discipline you and not wait for you to change."
Sabre reported revenue from its travel solutions business rose 4% to $645 million in Q4 while distribution revenue increased 5% to $500 million. Meanwhile, IT solutions revenue declined 1% to $145 million for the quarter and was down 2% to $571 million for the year, attributed to lower revenue from de-migrations.
Full-year travel solutions revenue increased 4% to $2.7 billion while distribution revenue rose 6% to $2.2 billion.
Hospitality solutions revenue increased 8% to $81 million driven by an increase in central reservation system transactions through new customer deployments. Central reservation system transactions increased 8% to 31 million.
Revenue for the full year was up 7% to $327 million with CRS transactions up 5% to $128 million.
Ekert also told PhocusWire that the company feels well-positioned for 2025 within the travel industry despite current geo-political uncertainty.
"If you look, other than the black swan event of COVID was very unique, if you exclude that and go back over the last 50 years, inclusive of 2007/2008 financial crisis, inclusive of 9/11, you have never seen a year where global PBs (passengers boarded) are down more than a couple of percent," he said. "You will have an event, it will hit, the market reacts and responds pretty quickly. Typically in a recession, maybe you see a downturn of a couple of percent and remember, we're living in a case where you have, effectively, two wars happening in Europe and the Middle East. You have massive political instability and geopolitical tensions, and yet you're seeing a fairly healthy and robust travel market."