American Express Global Business Travel has announced “outstanding” financial results for 2023 with the TMC’s revenue rising by 24 per cent year-on-year to $2.29 billion due to new client wins and increased demand for travel.
The company’s growth was boosted by a 23 per cent increase in total transaction value (TTV), which reached $28.2 billion in 2023 – up from $22.97 billion during 2022. Transaction growth was up 19 per cent year-on-year fuelled by more bookings for international travel.
Paul Abbott, Amex GBT’s CEO, said the 2023 results were above the guidance that the company issued at the start of the year, which had predicted revenue growth of 17-20 per cent.
Abbott said he expected there to be a “more stable level of industry growth” of 3-5 per cent during 2024 and that Amex GBT would “deliver growth ahead of the industry”.
“I’m more positive than ever for our future. We’re confident that 2024 will be another year of share gains, strong growth in profits and cash flow, and continued margin expansion,” added Abbott.
Amex GBT said that it had continued to gain share in the TMC market with the value of its wins in 2023 adding up to $3.5 billion in bookings including $2.2 billion from SMEs, which the company has been actively targeting.
The TMC added that it had achieved a client retention rate of 96 per cent during 2023, which was up by one percentage point on the previous year.
The company is expecting revenue in 2024 to increase by between 6 and 9 per cent to $2.43 billion-$2.5 billion. This will be “driven by expected stable growth in business travel and Amex GBT's continued share gains”.
Karen Williams, Amex GBT’s chief financial officer, said: “Our 2024 guidance demonstrates the power of our financial model to leverage stable travel demand growth to above-industry revenue growth.”
Amex GBT made a net loss of $46 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, down from a deficit of $63 million in Q4 of 2022. For the full year, the company's loss was $136 million, compared with $229 million in 2022, an improvement of 41 per cent or £93 million year-on-year.
The company’s adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) was $380 million in 2023 – up from $103 million in 2022, which represented a year-on-year increase of 269 per cent.