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(Alliance News) - Hostelworld Group PLC's shares fell on Wednesday, after it chopped its payout amid an earnings fall, and added that the coronavirus has caused "a material reduction in bookings".
Shares were down 10% at 94.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
The Dublin-based hostel booking platform said revenue in 2019 came in 1.7% lower at EUR80.7 million from EUR82.1 million. Pretax profit tumbled by more than half to EUR3.0 from EUR6.7 million.
Administrative expenses climbed by 2.4% to EUR63.4 million from EUR61.9 million.
Hostelworld paid a full-year dividend of 6.3 euro cents per share, down 54% from 13.8 cents in 2018. The company added that it has "rebased" its payout policy "to a progressive dividend with a pay-out of between 20% to 40% of adjusted profit after tax".
Net bookings were down by 4.8% to 6.6 million from 7.0 million reported in 2018, though average booking value rose 2.8% to EUR11.97 from EUR11.64.
Hostelworld added: "While we entered 2020 with positive momentum, trading since late-January has been challenged by the outbreak of the covid-19 virus which is having a significant impact on global travel demand, within Asian markets and more recently within the European market. As the Coronavirus has spread from region to region, we have observed a material reduction in bookings and an increase in marketing cost as a percentage of net revenue."
Hostelworld warned that if near-term trends continue until the end of March, its full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation could take a hit between EUR3 million and EUR4 million.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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