Travel management company CTM reported a 9 per cent increase in revenue to AU$716.9 million (€424.71 million) for its 2024 financial year which ended on 30 June, while underlying EBITDA rose 21 per cent to AU$201.7 million (€122.3 million).

However, the results ¡°fell short of expectations¡± after a ¡°challenging year¡± for CTM, with the company pointing to its UK Bridging Accommodation contract performing ¡°materially below forecast¡± and several humanitarian support projects tapering off more quickly than expected.

Despite this, CTM's full-year revenue increased by 18 per cent in Europe to AU$169.3 million (€102.66 million) and EBITDA by 16 per cent to AU$97.7 million (€59.24 million).

CTM managing director Jamie Pherous said: ¡°The Group¡¯s financial performance in FY24 did not meet our growth ambitions, but the underlying business performed well and new client wins, improvements in investments in proprietary technology, and strong second half turnarounds in our North America and Australia/New Zealand regions are creating momentum going into FY25.¡±

The company retained 97 per cent of all customers during the year and won an estimated AU$970 million¡¯s worth (€588 million) of new business. Revenue per full-time equivalent employee increased by 9 per cent during the period.

In its annual report, CTM highlighted the roll-out of its Sleep Space hotel content engine in Australia and New Zealand, with preliminary research indicating ¡°the product has strong potential¡± with plans to launch the tool in other regions during FY25.

Internally, a programme dubbed Project Atlas is forecast to deliver savings of AU$10 million (€6.06 million) in FY25 through the automation and standardisation of support services.

The report noted that its AI-powered assistant Scout is enjoying strong customer adoption and helped improved the TMC's Net Promotor Score. It will be a ¡°key technology investment for CTM in FY25 as it learns to solve more complex problems faster¡±.

For FY25, CTM is targeting around 10 per cent revenue growth across North America, Australia & New Zealand and Asia, and EBITDA margins of of 27.5 per cent. However in Europe it expects revenue to fall 18 per cent as non-recurring projects are now complete. Further ahead, CTM aims to double its FY24 profit within five years.

CTM was ranked the seventh largest TMC in Europe in BTN Europe's Leading TMCs 2024 report.