Travel software company Serko has posted a sizeable loss as its expenses rose and the slump in travel caused by Covid-19 battered its revenues.
Travel software company Serko's revenue rose 11 percent, but the growth was less than half that which had been forecast earlier in the year before the pandemic hit. Photo: 123rf.com
The company made a loss of $9.4 million for the year ended March compared with $1.6m profit the year before.
Serko's chairperson Claudia Batten said: "Government responses to the pandemic worldwide, including lockdowns and the suspension of all nonessential travel, continue to have a material adverse effect on booking transaction volumes on Serko's online travel booking platforms, which generate the majority of Serko's revenue."
The company's revenue rose 11 percent, but the growth was less than half that which had been forecast earlier in the year before the pandemic hit.
Meanwhile, expenses rose by more than half as it invested in research and technology for future growth.
Batten said Serko had moved quickly to conserve cash and cut costs when the hit to international travel because of the pandemic became evident in mid-February.
"In response to the operational and economic impacts of Covid-19, Serko has reduced cash burn and reprioritised strategic initiatives to position the business for the materially changed operating environment."
The company receive $1.6m through various government Covid-19 relief programmes, about half of which was from the wage subsidy scheme.
Batten said business was starting to recover in New Zealand after the relaxation of lockdown restrictions, but more broadly an improvement globally would only be gradual.
However, the company gets most of its income from Australia and New Zealand.
The company said it was looking to keep its cash spending to no more than $2m a month and had plenty of cash in hand to weather the pandemic's effects.