Booking Holdings, the company behind the well-known hotel booking site Booking.com, has had a good second quarter.
Thanks to the strong demand for travel and hotel stays, both turnover and profit were on the rise.
The number of overnight stays booked through Booking Holdings’ platforms grew by more than 7 percent compared to the same quarter a year earlier.
The total number came to 287 million.
Turnover was also 7 percent higher than a year earlier, totalling 5.9 billion dollars (or 5.5 billion euro).
Net profit rose by 18 percent to 1.5 billion dollars (1.4 billion euro).
Gross travel bookings, including taxes and fees, and excluding cancellations, amounted to 41.4 billion dollars (38.4 billion euros).
That’s an increase of 4 percent compared to the previous year’s quarter.
According to CEO Glenn Fogel, the company exceeded its own expectations with these results.
The good figures are overshadowed by a hefty fine of more than 413 million euros from the Spanish competition watchdog CNMC, which Booking .com received earlier this week for abusing its dominance in the market. The company is considering an appeal. (Photo: Shutterstock).
