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On the Beach Group PLC on Tuesday said it expects to deliver ‘another record summer’, despite slower growth in the ‘value’ end of the travel market. The Manchester, England-based beach holidays retailer also declared its first dividend since the Covid-19 pandemic, as it had guided back in December. Shares were down 11% to 149.20 pence in London on Tuesday. On The Beach reported pretax profit of £600,000 for the six months that ended March 31, swinging from a £5.9 million loss a year prior. Revenue rose 11% to £80.8 million from £72.9 million, with booked total transaction value up 22% to £597.8 million from £491.7 million. This was driven by increased passenger bookings during the period, up 15%, as well as an increase in the average value of holidays sold, On The Beach said. Helping profitability, the group highlighted continued delivery of operational efficiencies resulting in marketing spend and overheads lower as a percentage of revenue from a year before. On The Beach said overall the market remains strong, underpinned by an additional 7% airline capacity to beach leisure destinations for Summer 2024. On The Beach said it continues to grow at ahead of this 7% rate, supported in part by its new partnership agreement with budget carrier Ryanair Holdings PLC. It said the premium market continues to perform strongly with total transaction value growth in 5 star holidays within the business-to-consumer segment of 41% on-year. But the value market remains ‘more challenging’, reflecting cost of living pressures in the UK, with 1% TTV growth on-year. On The Beach said trading momentum has continued since the half year date with Summer 2024 forward order value currently 22% ahead of last year. ‘We expect to deliver another record Summer,’ the company said. On The Beach said it is ‘confident’ in delivering financial 2024 profit in line with current consensus expectations. The company declared an interim dividend of 0.90 pence after making no interim payout a year ago. It last paid a dividend before the Covid-19 pandemic, paying out 1.3 pence for the first half of financial 2019. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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