Millennials love to travel, but often on a budget - much to the delight of Hostelworld (HSW). The number of bookings increased by 6 per cent to 7.5m last year, more than half of which now come from mobile devices. This digital surge has prompted the company to open a new technology centre in Portugal to increase capacity and develop new features, such as giving guests the ability to message each other via the app.
Chief executive Feargal Mooney wants the company to compete with more generalist travel booking websites, and believes better technology will help it do this. Hostelworld spent less on marketing in 2017, but this didn’t come at the expense of direct bookings, which increased by 13 per cent. Globally speaking, uncertainty in Europe – sparked by terrorist attacks, Brexit and the refugee crisis – was mitigated by good growth in Asia, which now represents more than a fifth of total bookings.
Analysts at Numis expect pre-tax profits of €20.7m (£18.0m) in 2018, giving EPS of 19.5¢, down from €22.4m and 22.3¢ in 2017.
| HOSTELWORLD (HSW) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 372p | MARKET VALUE: | £355m | |
| TOUCH: | 368-372p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 425p | LOW: 267p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.0% | PE RATIO: | 36 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 154¢* | NET CASH: | €21.3m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (€m) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
| 2013** | 57.2 | -29.6 | -12.3 | na |
| 2014 | 79.3 | -77.0 | -24.0 | na |
| 2015 | 83.5 | 80.5 | 4.5 | 2.8 |
| 2016 | 80.5 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 15.3 |
| 2017 | 86.7 | 11.8 | 11.8 | 17.1 |
| % change | +8 | +8795 | +1335 | +12 |
| Ex-div: | 10 May | |||
| Payment: | 14 Jun | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of €128m, or 134¢ a share. **Pre-IPO figures. £1=€1.15 | ||||
