An 88% increase in revenue from international operations helped Priceline.com record a first-quarter profit of $53.9 million, more than double the $25 million it earned a year earlier.
Priceline’s first-quarter revenue was $584.4 million, a 26.5% increase. Revenue from international operations was $215.8 million.
The company totaled $3 billion in gross sales, a 52.5% hike. CEO Jeff Boyd said strong growth in hotel sales powered the increase.
"We believe all of our brands continued to gain share in hotel reservations during the quarter,” he said.
Boyd said gross bookings increased 16% in the U.S. despite weaker results in opaque airline tickets and rental cars tied to reduced capacity in those businesses.