A successful 2014 for Amadeus

Amadeus IT Group, a Spain-based leading IT distribution solution provider, reported significant growth in the fiscal year of 2014, with its air booking business reaching a 40.7 percent global market share.

In adjusted profit, Amadeus gained a 9.9 percent comparable growth in 2014 to 682 million euros. The EBITDA reached 1.31 billion euros, an increase of 9.9 percent from 2013, or 7.7 percent if M&A activities are discounted. The company's 2014 earnings posted a 10.1 percent year-on-year gain and stood at 3.42 billion euros; 7.5 percent？if the mergers of Newmarket International, UFIS Airport Solutions and i:FAO Group are discounted.

Distribution sector

The distribution business saw 2.46 billion euros in earnings in 2014, 5.9 percent more than the year before. Altogether 467 million air tickets were booked through the Amadeus system in the same year, resulting in a 5.2 percent annual growth and outstripping the industry's average growth rate of 3.2 percent.

North American and Asia-Pacific regions led the majority of Amadeus' 2014 market share gains in the distribution business, which expanded to 40.7 percent. The formation of a partnership with budget airline Ryanair marked Amadeus' commitment to the integration of low-cost and hybrid air travel, something that has shown great momentum in 2014 with a 16% percent annual rise in ticket booking through travel agencies.

A total of 31 airlines signed or renewed contracts with Amadeus in 2014. Online travel agencies Orbitz, Expedia, Ctrip and TUI China Travel all signed cooperative relationships with Amadeus.

IT solutions

In 2014, IT solutions contributed 963 million euros to the company's earnings, a 22.5 percent gain in comparison to the previous year. Discounting M&A activities, IT solution revenue increased 12.9 percent to 887 million euros.

Till Feb 27, 2015, a total of 133 airlines have adopted the booking and inventory services of the Altéa system, 117 of which use the Altéa Suite service. With such a client portfolio, it is projected that by 2017, their system will be handling 1 billion passengers, a 44 percent rise from 2014.

Amadeus IT solutions became the technology partner of 19 airports in 2014 and 84 airports have been connected to the Amadeus system for departure control.

The merger of Newmarket International was completed in the first quarter of 2014 and gave Amadeus access to 22,000 hotels in 154 countries worldwide, along with product and service integration. Newmarket will operate with independence as part of the Amadeus Global Hotel Group.

A community model is shaping up in the hotel industry as traction is being gained in a technological cooperative deal between Amadeus and InterContinental Hotels Group.

Asia-Pacific is the growth base for the Amadeus airline IT business. Korean Air has adopted the Amadeus system for customer services; Japanese Airlines and All Nippon Airways are considering using the Amadeus system in their international business in the next few years. US-based Southwest Airlines also started a partnership with Amadeus to boost its domestic flight network.