Orbitz Worldwide narrowed both its fourth-quarter and full-year 2011 losses.
The online travel agency reported a fourth-quarter loss of $46.5 million, down from $78 million during the same period of 2010. Orbitz blamed the losses during both quarters on "non-cash goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges."
Orbitz said gross bookings decreased 1% driven primarily by lower volume, and that gross hotel bookings increased 4% primarily due to an increase in average daily rate.
Revenue fell 3% to $177.1 million; excluding a one-time item, revenue was flat. (Orbitz said that in the fourth quarter of 2010, there was a "$5.6 million non-cash reduction to the company's unfavorable contract liability upon American Airlines' termination of the charter associate agreement.")
Orbitz said air net revenue during the quarter was down 11% to $59.3 million. The American Airlines contract situation was a factor, as was lower domestic air volume.
Orbitz said certain airlines early in 2011 limited their forward distribution on metasearch sites, and that higher airfares also had a negative effect on bookings.
For the full year, revenue increased 1%, inching to $766.8 million from $757.4 in 2010.
Orbitz's net loss for the year narrowed to $37.2 million from $58.2 million.
Hotel net revenue was 36.3% of the Orbitz's total net revenue during 2011, up from 35.6% in 2010.
Orbitz said it is experiencing strong growth outside the United States. Net revenue from its European Ebookers brand represented 23% of the company's total net revenue for the year, up from 18% in 2010. International net revenue increased to 29% of the company's total net revenue for 2011, up from 23% in 2010.
"2011 was an investment year for Orbitz Worldwide, and we are pleased to be announcing today the completion of our multi-year global platform migration," said Orbitz CEO Barney Harford in a statement.
"While the first half of 2011 was challenging from a performance perspective, we continue to be pleased with the second-half improvements in the trajectory of our U.S. leisure brands that have continued into the first quarter of this year. In 2012, we look forward to reaping the benefits of having all of our consumer-facing businesses on a common platform and being able to focus our efforts on innovation and growth."
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