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Flight Centre profits descend

Sarah Stowe

Flight Centre’s has reported a fall in annual underlying profit in the wake of price wars, Zika virus worries and global instability from Brexit and US concerns about terrorism in Europe.

The travel group posted a 3.8 percent fall in annual underlying profit and said soft trading conditions in the fourth quarter continued into the start of the 2016/17 financial year and were now picking up.

According to a report by Inside Retail, the Brexit decision, concerns about the Zika virus in South America and terror attacks in France and Belgium have hit consumer confidence.

“We will be disappointed if we don’t improve on our FY16 performance,” said Graham Turner, managing director.

Although he said it would be “impossible to predict future conditions”, he added that management could see opportunities for growth in international markets.

Flight Centre is expected to exceed $20 bn this year from $19.3 bn in 2015/16.