Spain's HBX posts take rate slowdown, shares fall

HBX Group's Financial Performance

By Javi West Larrañaga and Gemma Guasch

Jan 28 (Reuters) - Spanish travel technology firm HBX Group said on Wednesday its take rate slowed down in the October-December quarter compared to the same period in 2024, sending its shares down as much as 3.7%.

The company's take rate —the ratio of revenue to total transaction value— fell 0.9 percentage points year-on-year in the first quarter of its financial year, from 9.3% to 8.4%.

Impact of Take Rate on Revenue

HBX blamed the weaker take rate on slower growth in its mobility & experiences division, as well as key sales campaigns, though it did not clarify whether this was due to higher spending on customer attraction or bigger discounts.

Market Reaction to Earnings

NO RESPITE AFTER HARD YEAR

The firm struggled last year to convince investors after its unexciting February listing on the Spanish stock exchange was followed by two outlook cuts and a 70 million euro loss in the year that ended on September 30.

Regional Revenue Insights

Although the shares have steadily recovered, and surged about 30% since the beginning of December, they are still around 30% below their 11.50 euro IPO price.

The travel technology company, which buys hotel lodgings, car rentals and other products and resells them in bulk to travel agencies and retailers, reported first-quarter revenue of 170 million euros ($204 million), and confirmed its annual forecasts.

Revenue growth was strongest in Spain, 13% year-on-year, helped by increased demand for regional and domestic travel, though this was partly offset by reduced travel to the United States, the company said in its quarterly statement.

Its shares were down 2% at 0846 GMT.

($1 = 0.8335 euros)

(Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga and Gemma Guasch in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Matt Scuffham)