Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2010 Results

CHICAGO, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: OWW) today announced results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2010.

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"Orbitz Worldwide's second quarter results significantly exceeded our Adjusted EBITDA expectations, increasing 7 percent year over year, to $48.1 million. We posted solid year over year improvements in gross bookings, transactions, and hotel room nights," said Barney Harford, president & CEO of Orbitz Worldwide. "ebookers continued its strong performance with hotel room night growth of 58 percent. Both Orbitz for Business and our private label business also posted strong growth in transactions and hotel room nights."  

Second Quarter 2010 Financial Highlights

For the second quarter 2010, the company reported net income of $9.7 million or $0.09 per diluted share compared with net income of $10.3 million or $0.12 per diluted share for the second quarter 2009. Income before income taxes for the second quarter 2010 was up nine percent year over year. Adjusted EBITDA increased seven percent year over year to $48.1 million from $45.0 million for the second quarter 2009.

Gross Bookings and Net Revenue

Global gross bookings increased 17 percent (18 percent on a constant currency basis) year over year. This increase was due primarily to higher air fares and higher transaction volume. Air gross bookings increased 21 percent (22 percent on a constant currency basis) and non-air gross bookings increased seven percent (six percent on a constant currency basis) year over year. Domestic gross bookings increased 17 percent and international gross bookings increased 19 percent (20 percent on a constant currency basis) year over year.

Net revenue was $193.5 million for the second quarter 2010, an increase of three percent (two percent on a constant currency basis) year over year. Domestic net revenue was up two percent while international net revenue increased eight percent (six percent on a constant currency basis) year over year. The growth in net revenue was due primarily to an increase in standalone hotel and international air transactions as well as higher travel insurance revenue. These increases were partially offset by lower airline hosting and advertising revenue.

• Air net revenue was $70.9 million in the second quarter 2010, up three percent on both a reported and constant currency basis year over year. Domestic air net revenue was up one percent year over year due to higher net revenue per airline ticket and a slight increase in air transactions. The company's air transaction growth rate slowed in the second quarter 2010 as the company passed the anniversary of removing booking fees on most flights. International air net revenue increased $1.6 million or ten percent (14 percent on a constant currency basis) year over year due primarily to higher air transactions partially offset by lower net revenue per airline ticket.
• Hotel net revenue was $52.1 million in the second quarter 2010, up 13 percent (nine percent on a constant currency basis) year over year. Hotel net revenue for the company's domestic brands increased due primarily to an increase in standalone hotel transactions. Hotel net revenue also increased due to another quarter of strong performance at ebookers driven by increases in both standalone hotel transactions and net revenue per hotel transaction. Net revenue at HotelClub declined due to lower volume in European destinations and a geographic mix shift towards hotel bookings in lower margin markets.  
• Vacation package net revenue decreased one percent in the quarter to $31.2 million due to lower domestic transactions primarily caused by higher package prices as a result of higher air fares and average daily rates for hotel rooms. Strong demand for packages at ebookers partially offset the decline in domestic vacation package net revenue.
• Advertising and media revenue decreased 13 percent year over year to $12.4 million, primarily due to a decline in revenue from membership discount programs. Effective March 31, 2010, the company ended the membership discount program previously offered on its domestic websites.
• Other net revenue, which primarily includes car rental, cruise, destination services, travel insurance and airline hosting revenue, decreased one percent (flat on a constant currency basis) year over year. This decrease was primarily due to the termination of one of the company's airline hosting agreements in the first quarter 2010. Higher travel insurance revenue due to higher attachment rates and higher air fares partially offset this decline.  

In order to provide a more comparable view of the company's operating performance across periods, Appendix A to this press release adjusts gross bookings and net revenue for currency impacts. The company has also included a schedule of trended operating metrics in Appendix B to this press release.

Operating Expenses

Cost of revenue

Cost of revenue is primarily comprised of customer service costs, credit card processing fees and other costs including ticketing and fulfillment, customer refunds and charge-backs, affiliate commissions and connectivity and other processing costs.

Cost of revenue increased to 19.3 percent of net revenue in the second quarter 2010 due to higher customer service staffing levels, higher customer service costs associated with the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano and higher credit card processing costs related to stronger merchant hotel gross bookings. In the second quarter 2009, the company's customer service staffing levels were low relative to the sharply higher transaction volume the company experienced following last year's air booking fee removals. The company has since increased its staffing levels to better support the higher transaction volume.

Selling, general and administrative expense (SG&A)

Selling, general and administrative expense is comprised of wages and benefits, contract labor costs, network communications, systems maintenance and equipment costs and other costs.

SG&A expense for the second quarter 2010 was flat year over year. Higher equity-based compensation expense, lower foreign currency gains and higher travel expenses were offset by lower costs for severance, employee incentive compensation, contract labor and systems maintenance and equipment.

Marketing expense

The company's marketing expense is primarily comprised of online marketing costs, such as search and banner advertising, and offline marketing costs, such as television, radio and print advertising. Marketing expense in the second quarter 2010 was $55.3 million, an increase of three percent year over year. This increase was primarily due to higher online marketing spending at ebookers. Marketing expense as a percentage of net revenue for the second quarter 2010 was relatively flat year over year.

Interest Expense

Orbitz Worldwide incurred net interest expense of $10.9 million in the second quarter 2010 compared with $14.6 million in the second quarter 2009. This year over year decline was due primarily to lower outstanding borrowings and a lower effective interest rate on the company's term loan. At June 30, 2010, $400.0 million of the $492.0 million outstanding on the company's term loan had fixed interest rates. The weighted average effective interest rate on the term loan was 4.85 percent at June 30, 2010, down from 6.04 percent at June 30, 2009.

During the second quarter 2010, the company purchased and retired $14.0 million in principal amount of the term loan for approximately $13.5 million.

Cash Flow

Orbitz Worldwide reported operating cash flow of $114.7 million for the first half of 2010, an increase of 16 percent year over year. The increase in operating cash flow for the first half of 2010 was primarily driven by higher merchant gross bookings, improved marketing efficiency and lower interest payments, partially offset by lower booking fee revenue, changes in the timing of payments received from vendors and the payment of employee bonuses in the first quarter 2010. No bonus payment was made in the first half of 2009 based on 2008 results.

At June 30, 2010, cash and cash equivalents were $144.5 million compared with cash and cash equivalents of $68.1 million at June 30, 2009 (net of $63.3 million of borrowings under the revolving credit facility). The year over year increase in cash is driven in part by the $50.0 million of cash proceeds received from the stock purchase made by Travelport in January 2010.

Operational Highlights

• In July, Chris Orton was named the company's Chief Marketing Officer. Chris is a leader in developing algorithmic approaches to online marketing and customer relationship management. Chris joined Orbitz Worldwide from eBay, Inc.
• In July, Orbitz Worldwide launched its EasyConnect™ solution, an improved connectivity solution for channel managers and small to medium-sized hotel chains which will allow the company to expand its hotel supply more efficiently.
• As of June 30, 2010, Orbitz Worldwide offered approximately 100,000 bookable hotels on its websites, including nearly 70,000 merchant hotels. Orbitz Worldwide websites offer over 40,000 hotels in the EMEA region and 16,000 hotels in the Asia Pacific region.
• During the second quarter, Orbitz Worldwide renewed its global agreements with Starwood and Marriott. In addition, the company signed global agreements with a number of new European hotel partners during the second quarter, including Jury's, Falksteiner, Motel One and Bastion. The Company also signed a global agreement with New Zealand-based Scenic Hotel Group.
• In June, Orbitz launched its Open Beach Guarantee, developed in partnership with participating Florida hotels, which offers full refunds on standalone hotel reservations if the beach at a customer's destination is closed due to the oil spill. Under the Open Beach Guarantee, customers who make a standalone hotel booking at a participating property on Orbitz.com for travel between June 14 and September 30, 2010, will be eligible for a full refund on their hotel stay if a government agency closes or declares dangerous a beach within 20 miles of the property.  
• As of June 30, 2010, Orbitz had over 5,000 travel agents participating in its Orbitz for Agents program, a groundbreaking program that offers travel agents the opportunity to earn commissions on hotel reservations and customized travel package bookings made on behalf of their customers.
• During the second quarter, the company launched a customized solution for LAN Airlines, providing their customers the ability to book vacation packages using the Orbitz Worldwide global network of suppliers.
• In May, Orbitz Worldwide launched AdventureFinder (www.adventurefinder.com), a new travel website that provides instant access to the world's leading adventure vacations. The website allows consumers to research, customize, and plan active escapes quickly and easily.
• Orbitz for Business completed a strong second quarter, delivering 39% year over year gross bookings growth. This growth reflects continued acceleration in corporate travel demand and the addition of new customers, such as Tourneau, Inc. In addition, Orbitz for Business signed renewals with existing customers including Clearwire LLC, Fellowes, Inc., Federal Signal Corporation and Mastec, Inc.
• During the second quarter, Orbitz Worldwide signed global contracts with a number of destination marketing organizations including Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing, Visit Denver, New Orleans Tourism & Marketing Corporation and Hong Kong Tourism Board to promote travel to those destinations. Orbitz Worldwide now has partner marketing agreements with nearly 175 destination marketing organizations.

Q3 2010 and Full Year 2010 Outlook

For the third quarter 2010, the company expects:

• three percent to six percent year over year increase in net revenue;
• 19 percent to 21 percent cost of revenue as a percentage of net revenue; and
• flat to six percent year over year increase in Adjusted EBITDA.

For the full year 2010, the company expects:

• marketing expense as a percentage of net revenue will approximate 2009 levels;
• capital expenditures in the range of $36 million to $42 million; and
• five percent to ten percent year over year increase in Adjusted EBITDA.

The outlook above assumes relatively stable foreign exchange rates.

Quarterly Conference Call

Orbitz Worldwide will host a conference call to discuss its second quarter 2010 results at 10:00 a.m. EDT (9:00 a.m. CDT) on Thursday, August 5, 2010. A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed through the Orbitz Worldwide Investor Relations website at www.orbitz-ir.com. An archive of the webcast and a transcript will also be available on the website for a period of at least 30 days.

About Orbitz Worldwide

Orbitz Worldwide is a leading global online travel company that uses innovative technology to enable leisure and business travelers to research, plan and book a broad range of travel products.  Orbitz Worldwide owns a portfolio of consumer brands that includes Orbitz (www.orbitz.com), CheapTickets (www.cheaptickets.com), ebookers (www.ebookers.com), HotelClub (www.hotelclub.com), RatesToGo (www.ratestogo.com), the Away Network (www.away.com) and corporate travel brand Orbitz for Business (www.orbitzforbusiness.com).  For more information on how your company can partner with Orbitz Worldwide, visit corp.orbitz.com.

Orbitz Worldwide uses its Investor Relations website to make information available to its investors and the public at www.orbitz-ir.com.  You can sign up to receive email alerts whenever the company posts new information to the website.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release and its attachments may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors concerning, among other things, Orbitz Worldwide's (the "Company's") expected financial performance and its strategic operational plans. The results presented are unaudited. The Company's actual results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. The potential risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed by the forward-looking statements in this press release and its attachments include, but are not limited to, the economic recession and general state of the financial markets; competition in the travel industry; factors affecting the level of travel activity, particularly air travel volume; maintenance and protection of the Company's information technology and intellectual property; the outcome of pending litigation; the Company's level of indebtedness; risks associated with doing business in multiple currencies; trends in the travel industry; and general economic and business conditions. More information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties and factors is contained in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") which are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or the Company's Investor Relations website at www.orbitz-ir.com. You are cautioned not to unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All information in this press release and its attachments is as of August 5, 2010, and Orbitz Worldwide undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statement.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release and its attachments include certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined by the SEC. These measures may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Further information regarding the non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release is contained in Appendix A attached to this press release.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

EBITDA is a performance measure used by management that is defined as net income or net loss plus: net interest expense, provision (benefit) for income taxes and depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA as adjusted for certain non-cash and unusual or non-recurring items as described below. Orbitz Worldwide uses and believes investors and other external users of the company's financial statements benefit from the presentation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA in evaluating its operating performance because:

• These measures provide greater insight into management decision making at Orbitz Worldwide as they are among the primary metrics by which management evaluates the operating performance of the company's business. Management believes that when viewed with GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliation, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provide additional information that is useful for management and other external users to gain an understanding of the factors and trends affecting the ongoing cash earnings capability of the company's business, from which capital investments are made and debt is serviced. These supplemental measures are used by management and the board of directors to evaluate the company's actual results against management's expectations. The compensation of management and other employees within the company is also tied to the company's actual performance, as measured by Adjusted EBITDA relative to performance targets established by the company's board of directors and its compensation committee.
• EBITDA measures performance apart from items such as interest expense, income taxes and depreciation and amortization. Management believes that the exclusion of interest expense is necessary to evaluate the cash earnings capability of the business. The company generally only funds working capital requirements with borrowed funds (specifically, funds borrowed under its revolving credit facility) in the fourth quarter of the year when its cash balances are typically the lowest. As a result, nearly all of the company's interest expense is not incurred to fund its operating activities. In addition, excluding interest expense from the company's non-GAAP measures is consistent with the company's intent to disclose the ongoing cash earnings capability of the business, from which capital investments are made and debt is serviced.  Management believes that the exclusion of non-cash depreciation and amortization is also necessary to evaluate the cash earnings capability of the business. Management believes that the review of its non-GAAP measures in conjunction with other GAAP metrics, such as capital expenditures, is more useful in understanding the company's business than the inclusion of depreciation and amortization expense in the non-GAAP measures used by management, since depreciation and amortization expense has historically fluctuated as a result of purchase accounting and this expense involves management judgment (e.g. estimated useful lives).
• Adjusted EBITDA corresponds more closely to the ongoing cash earnings capability of the company's business, by excluding the items described above, as well as certain other non-cash items, such as goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges and stock-based compensation, and other unusual and non-recurring items, such as restructuring charges and litigation settlements. Adjusted EBITDA does not exclude certain non-cash items, such as accruals of revenue and expense, because these items represent timing differences and management believes that by including these items, it is providing a better view of the cash earnings capability of the business.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, as presented for the three and six months ended June 30, 2010 and June 30, 2009, are not defined under GAAP and do not purport to be an alternative to net income or net loss as a measure of operating performance. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA have certain limitations in that they do not take into account the impact of certain expenses to the company's income statement, such as stock-based compensation, goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges, acquisition-related accounting and certain one-time items, if applicable. Because not all companies use identical calculations, this presentation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to other similarly-titled measures used by other companies.

The following table provides a reconciliation of net income (loss) to EBITDA:

EBITDA was adjusted by the items listed and described in more detail below. The following table provides a reconciliation of EBITDA to Adjusted EBITDA.

Gross Bookings and Net Revenue, at Constant Currency

The Company's reporting currency is the U.S. Dollar.  As a result, reported financial results are impacted by the strength or weakness of the U.S. Dollar relative to the currencies of the international markets in which the Company operates particularly the Pound Sterling, Euro and Australian Dollar.  Management evaluates the Company's operating performance with and without the impact of changes in foreign exchange rates because it believes excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates provides a more comparable view of the Company's operating performance across periods.  Management believes that when viewed with GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliation, management and other external users are better able to gain an understanding of the factors and trends affecting operating performance. The following table adjusts gross bookings and net revenue for foreign currency impacts across the relevant periods:

SOURCE Orbitz Worldwide, Inc.

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