American Express Global Business Travel reported total transaction growth of 12 percent year over year in the second quarter as it sees “record new wins” among small and midsized clients.
The transaction growth drove a 23 percent year-over-year increase in travel revenue to a total of $91 million for the quarter, part of an increase of 22 percent year over year in overall revenue to $106 million, Amex GBT reported. Strengthening meetings demand helped push revenue from product and professional services up 16 percent year over year to $15 million.
SME transactions increased 15 percent year over year in the quarter, with half of it “driven by net new wins and share gains,” Amex GBT CEO Paul Abbott said in an earnings call. Over the previous 12 months, SME wins have totaled $2.3 billion in annual business, with about 30 percent of that coming from customers who previously had unmanaged travel programs, he said.
The segment remains Amex GBT’s “biggest growth opportunity,” according to Abbott.
Transactions at global multinational clients increased 8 percent year over year in the second quarter, he said. “We continue to gain share in the global multination segment with major wins across sectors, including a leading media and entertainment company, one of the world’s largest global financial services firms and one of the world’s leading mining companies,” according to Abbott.
Transaction growth increased by double-digit percentages across all regions in the quarter, with the highest increase in the Asia/Pacific region, up 23 percent. Transactions in each the Americas and Europe, the Middle East and Africa were up 11 percent, the company reported.
Pilot programs for providing New Distribution Capability content, which began earlier this year, expanded in the second quarter, Abbott said. Currently, 1,500 companies are accessing NDC content via Amex GBT from American Airlines, Air France, KLM and Lufthansa, he said.
Amex GBT also reached a positive free cash flow in the quarter, which was earlier than it had projected. Amid the growth, the TMC has increased its revenue expectations for the year, now projecting the full year will bring between $2.25 billion and $2.28 billion in revenue, up from its earlier projection of $2.17 billion to $2.22 billion. That is based on Amex GBT’s performance in the first half of the year and “strong volume momentum,” according to Amex GBT CFO Karen Williams.
Amex GBT reported a net loss of $55 million for the second quarter, compared with a net loss of $2 million in the second quarter of 2022.
