Dublin-based CarTrawler has returned to profit after reporting a 100 per cent increase in revenue.
CarTrawler’s proprietary technology platform connects customers to more car rental options and is the leading global B2B provider of car rental and mobility solutions to the travel industry.
Despite this volatility in travel demand, CarTrawler doubled its revenue to €165.5m (£141m) and reported an operating profit of €3.3m, and an EBITDA in excess of €20m.
The business is now on target to exceed pre-pandemic levels in FY23, buoyed by a number of significant new partner wins and key partner renewals over the past 12 months.
CarTrawler partners with the world’s leading brands in travel, enabling them to offer car rental, airport transfer and ride-hailing services to their customers.
Key travel partners include easyJet, Norwegian, KLM, Emirates, United Airlines, Uber, American Express Travel, as well as a network of over 2,200 car rental and mobility suppliers across 50,000 locations in more than 150 countries.
Commenting on the company’s performance and growth plans, Peter O’Donovan, chief executive, CarTrawler, said: “I’m delighted with the growth and momentum in our business. Despite the impact on consumer travel experienced globally during the period as a result of Covid-19, we doubled our revenue and posted a healthy profit.
“We were able to do this through increased investment in our technology platform and wider capabilities, enabling us to grow our partner base and enhance our overall proposition.
“The travel ancillary sector has proven to be very resilient, with strong underlying growth. CarTrawler remains well positioned to unlock more of it and we are set for another year of strong growth in FY23.”
In the first half of 2022 the global travel sector experienced significant challenges, with recovery interrupted by the emergence of the Covid-19 Omicron variant and, subsequently, airline and airport disruptions across Europe.
This challenging period was followed by a strong recovery in consumer demand as travel restrictions eased and pent-up demand was released, with consumers demonstrating a strong desire to travel.
In addition to its financial results, CarTrawler has also reported on a number of macro indicators for the travel and car rental markets.
The company continues to observe strong customer intent to travel. Despite macro-economic headwinds leisure consumers expect to travel more in 2024 than in 2023 – highlighting the resilience of the sector.
Following a period of significantly higher car rental prices in 2022, CarTrawler reports that current prices in Europe have declined, down circa. 35 per cemt year-on-year for the period May/June 2023, with the company predicting a further but more moderate year-on-year decline in 2024.
Signaling a shift towards customer preferences for electric vehicles, CarTrawler also released data showing a growth in the volume of electric vehicles being rented.
The share of electric vehicles have increased nine-fold over the past six months. While electric vehicle rentals still account for a small percentage of car rentals worldwide, there is a notable increase in supply and consumer uptake.
CarTrawler’s global network connects more than 50,000 car rental locations worldwide, working with the biggest industry players including United Airlines, American Express Travel, easyJet, Uber, and Emirates.