13 May 2025

On the Beach Group plc

("On the Beach", "OTB", the "Company" or the "Group")

 

INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 ("H1 FY25")

Booked TTV up 13%, with strong volume growth of 11%, significantly ahead of the market

 

Adjusted profit before tax up 23%

 

Expanded addressable market with 130 Cities now live and brand established in Republic of Ireland

 

Group Financial & Operational Highlights

 

	H1 25 Unaudited	H1 24(5) Unaudited	H1 25 vs H1 24 Unaudited
	£'m	£'m	%
Booked TTV (1)	£640.7m	£568.7	13%
Revenue (2)	£64.2m	£59.9m	7%
Adjusted revenue (3)	£64.1m	£57.1m	12%
Adjusted EBITDA (4)	£12.0m	£10.1m	19%
Adjusted profit before tax (3)	£7.6m	£6.2m	23%
Profit before tax	£3.3m	£2.8m	18%
Net Debt (3)	(£29.5m)	(£47.3m)
Cash in Trust	£224.2m	£195.9m
Dividends per share (interim)	1.0p	0.9p	11%

(1)    Booked TTV ('TTV') is the Group total transaction value of holidays booked in the period before cancellations and adjustments.

(2)    Revenue in the prior year is stated inclusive of £2.8m of exceptional income relating to the settlement of refunds for flights cancelled during COVID-19.

(3)    See glossary for reconciliation to nearest GAAP measure.

(4)    EBITDA is profit before tax, exceptional items, share based payments, depreciation and amortisation, see glossary for reconciliation to nearest GAAP measure.

(5)    The prior period is restated for the effect of operations that were discontinued in the prior financial year.

 

 

Financial headlines

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current trading and outlook

Shaun Morton, Chief Executive of On the Beach Group plc, commented:

 

"I am very pleased to report another strong first half, in which the Group achieved TTV growth of 13% and revenue growth of 12% year on year. This record interim performance was driven by increased passenger bookings and reflects the strength of the On the Beach holiday proposition.

 

"Ongoing investment in our proprietary technology platform has supported our ambition to improve our customers' booking experience, enhance operational efficiency and to build scale. Embedding perks into our app has resonated well with customers, while transformational development to our platform have facilitated our successful expansion into Ireland and City break packages, offers which are scaling rapidly and being enjoyed by both new and existing customers.

 

"Demand for holidays remains strong as our customers continue to prioritise travel, and we are proud to have increased the breadth and quality of our offer so that they can holiday better and more often. This trend is reflected in our Summer '25 forward order TTV which is currently 14% ahead of last year. Our trading momentum, coupled with the continued execution of our strategy, means we are well placed to deliver our biggest summer to date and remain on track with our medium term ambition."

 

 

Analyst & investor webinar

A webinar for sell-side analysts and investors will be held today at 10.30am, the details of which can be obtained through FTI Consulting via onthebeach@fticonsulting.com. 

 

For further information: 

 

On the Beach Group plc Shaun Morton, Chief Executive Officer Jon Wormald, Chief Financial Officer	via FTI Consulting
FTI Consulting  Alex Beagley Harriet Jackson Hannah Butler Lia Bevan	Tel: +44 (0)20 3727 1000 onthebeach@fticonsulting.com

 

About On the Beach

On the Beach Group plc is one of the UK's largest online package holiday specialists, with significant opportunities for growth. Its innovative technology, low-cost base and strong customer-value proposition provides a structural challenge to legacy tour operators and online travel agents, as it continues disrupting the online retail of beach holidays. Its model is customer-centric, asset light, profitable and cash generative.

 

Cautionary statement

 

This announcement may contain certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results, operations and businesses of the Company. Forward looking statements are sometimes, but not always, identified by their use of a date in the future or such words as 'anticipates', 'aims', 'due', 'will', 'could', 'may', 'should', 'expects', 'believes', 'intends', 'plans', 'targets', 'goal' or 'estimates'. These forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including factors outside the Company's control. The forward-looking statements reflect the knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this announcement and will not be updated during the year. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast.

 

This statement together with the interim financial statements and investor presentation is available on www.onthebeachgroupplc.com.

 

 

Chief Executive's Review

 

Summary

Following another record year in FY24, momentum has continued into the first half of FY25 and has further strengthened since our AGM trading update at the end of February, demonstrating that customer demand for holidays from On the Beach continues to buck wider UK consumer trends.

The Group has delivered TTV growth of +13% in the first half, including strong volume growth of +11%, reflecting the strength of the On the Beach holiday proposition.

Trading momentum has continued since the half year, with Q3 to date TTV growth currently +18%. As a result of these factors and the continued execution of our strategy, we expect On the Beach to deliver another record year, and the Board is confident in delivering FY25 profit in line with current consensus expectations.

Business model

On the Beach's asset light and low fixed cost operating model, with no committed inventory to fill, naturally mitigates wider macro pressures experienced across the broader sector, while allowing for competitive pricing to capture share in a growing market.

Our well-invested technology enables us to serve billions of holiday combinations to our customers every day.

Being asset light, we are independent of airlines and hotels, which means that we have more capacity and flexibility than any standalone tour operator, airline or hotel chain and can pivot or expand quickly dependent on demand and opportunity.

Overall market seat supply remains strong heading into the summer with over 70m seats from UK departure points to European destinations, including an additional 5% airline capacity to beach leisure destinations and a further 3% to all European destinations compared to last summer.

ATOL data from the latest CAA renewal cycle in March 2025 reports a 3% YOY increase in total licensed forecast passenger volumes across the market for the next 12 months.

With OTB H1 volumes +11% and the summer forward order book +14%, On the Beach continues to grow significantly ahead of both the growth in market seat supply and the package holiday market.

Strategic progress

Our half year results demonstrate further progress in the execution of our strategy to help people holiday better and more often.

We continue to develop our technology platform with the key objectives being to improve our customers' booking experience, enhance operational efficiency and significantly scale.

We are proactively implementing transformational change within our Technology and Product teams to support with delivery against these key objectives. Following on from the significant upgrades to our platform last year, H1 25 highlights include a new inventory data store optimised for accuracy and performance, faster search technology with smarter filtering and discovery, new customer-centric technology to drive repeat bookings, ongoing investment in native app capabilities driving growing app engagement, and increased usage of AI to drive business efficiency and productivity.

Ongoing development to our platform underpins everything we do strategically, enabling growth in our core and expansion areas through delivery of the four design principles of our strategy; Stickiness, Choice, Peace of mind, and Scale and automation.

Stickiness

Consumers are shopping around as much as ever, so we are having to reacquire them. Our strategy is therefore designed for stickiness: providing reasons for more of our customers to engage with our brand all year round and not just when booking their holiday.

We achieve this by offering value; providing flexible payment options, compelling perks and by using our mobile app as an essential utility. Customers who book via the app are generally more satisfied and are more likely to rebook with us. The rebook rate is significantly higher in app than web.

Our technology enables us to continue to differentiate from others through our perks (fast track, lounge and mobile data), which give us a unique value proposition and a communicable point of difference, helping strengthen our brand, and broaden our appeal to new customers seeking premium holidays.

Perks are now available in the app, which is used to promote our perks and vice versa, promoting further stickiness. Our perks, combined with the successful partnership with Paddy McGuiness, have enabled us to effectively maintain record levels of brand awareness and consideration. In H1 25, we achieved our highest ever Top 3 Consideration and perk awareness score.

Choice

Our beach proposition competes for a small share of our customers' holiday wallet, therefore we are designing for choice, increasing the share of holiday wallet we compete for by adding other holiday options.

Investment in our technology has enabled us to expand into City break packages from Q4 of our last financial year, with the offering scaling rapidly.

Existing customers indicated to us that they would book City breaks with us if we sold them and this reflects our experience to date, with approximately 60% of City bookings being existing customers. We are also attracting new customers to the brand that haven't booked an OTB holiday previously, with 40% of City bookings being new customers, with the potential to repeat with a beach or City holiday in the future.

Whilst still early stage, key indicators are progressing well and we currently have 130 Short Haul and Long Haul cities live.

Peace of mind

We are aware that consumers want choice, value and protection when booking a package holiday, but they also want hiccup-free holidays. We are therefore using our technology to design package holidays for peace of mind.

In H1 25 we launched Price Drop Protection (PDP). If the price of a customer's holiday drops between booking and up to 60 days before departure, they can claim the difference back as a credit towards their next holiday.

PDP gives our customers the peace of mind that they are getting the best possible deal on their holiday, whilst encouraging them to keep visiting our app, also promoting engagement and stickiness.

OTB customer satisfaction scores are continuing to improve as we leverage the benefits of our upgraded technology and Ryanair partnership agreement. Our customer service is increasingly automated and efficient, which is resulting in fewer inbounds to the contact centre and increasing NPS.

Scale and automation

Finally, we have significant opportunities to expand our customer base, therefore we are designing for scale.

Upgrades to our technology platform enable expansion into new markets. International expansion commenced in H2 24 through the sale of package holidays from the Republic of Ireland (ROI). We have now established a brand presence in the ROI. Our offline campaign in H1 25 has been supported by Paddy McGuiness, doubling spontaneous awareness of OTB as a package beach holiday firm.

Ongoing investment in the ROI is progressing to plan, with c.£3m net cost expected in FY25 and our experience has laid the foundations for potential further international expansion.

Medium term outlook

Upgrades to our technology platform have enabled us to increase the size of our addressable market. Building on our expansion into premium and long-haul markets, adding Ireland and Cities more than doubles our addressable market once more, with the opportunity to expand into new markets remaining open to us, but not critical to achieving our medium-term ambition of doubling sales. Our strategic progress and results in H1 25 represent another step on our journey to achieving that ambition.

 

Segmental performance

Following the reorganisation of the B2B segment in the prior year, the Group now organises its operations into two principal financial reporting segments, being OTB (onthebeach.co.uk, onthebeach.ie and sunshine.co.uk) and B2B (Classic Collection).

 

OTB Segment performance

	H1 2025		H1 2024	vs
Bookings '000s	303.6		276.4	10%
Booked TTV £m	611.7		551.4	11%
	H1 2025		H1 2024	vs
	£m		£m	%
Revenue (1)	59.4		56.3	6%
Adjusted Revenue*	59.3		53.6	11%
Adjusted gross profit*	57.4		52.6	9%
Online Marketing costs	(16.3)		(15.4)
Offline Marketing costs	(9.8)		(10.5)
Gross profit after marketing costs*	31.3		26.7	17%
Overheads	(18.5)		(17.0)
Depreciation and amortization	(6.5)		(5.8)
Adjusted operating profit*	6.3		3.9	62%
Exceptional items	(0.9)		(0.5)
Share based payments	(1.9)		(1.6)
Amortisation of acquired intangibles	(1.1)		(1.1)
Operating profit	2.4		0.7
Adjusted EBITDA*	12.8		9.7	32%
Adjusted EBITDA %	21.6%		18.0%

*see glossary for reconciliation to nearest GAAP measure 

⁽¹⁾ Revenue in the prior year is stated inclusive of £2.7m of exceptional income relating to the settlement of refunds for flights cancelled during COVID-19.

 

Adjusted Revenue increased by 11% to £59.3m (H1 24: £53.6m). The increase in revenue was due to volume growth of 10%, with ABV's up 1% reflecting low single digit inflation and the mix impact of our growth into City breaks.

Growth has been achieved across all hotel star ratings, reflecting the broad appeal of OTB's brand.

Total marketing costs at £26.1m represent 44% of adjusted revenue (H1 24: 48%). This increased effectiveness has been enabled by tech development in H1. Offline marketing costs at £9.8m (H1 24 £10.5m) reflect a strategic intent to retain a presence for longer, whilst online costs were £16.3m (H1 24: £15.4m).

Following the launch of onthebeach.ie in Q4 FY24 we have invested to build a brand presence and test online penetration.

Adjusted gross profit after marketing costs increased by 17% to £31.3m (H1 24: £26.7m).

 

Operating leverage and overheads

	H1 2025	H1 2024
Overheads % adjusted revenue*	31.2%	31.7%
Overheads % booked TTV*	3.0%	3.1%

*see glossary for reconciliation to nearest GAAP measure

Overheads have increased by £1.5m to £18.5m representing 31.2% of adjusted revenue (H1 24: 31.7%) and 3.0% of TTV (H1 24: 3.1%).

The absolute increase in overheads within the B2C segment is due to continued investment into colleague pay, with OTB continuing to pay the real living wage.

Overall growth in overheads remains well behind the rate of bookings growth, demonstrating management's commitment to improved operational efficiency alongside our investment into talent, both of which will support the delivery of our medium term targets.

Adjusted EBITDA for the period was £12.8m (H1 24: £9.7m), up 32%. 

 

B2B segment performance

	H1 2025	H1 2024	Vs
Bookings '000s	10.1	7.4	36%
Booked TTV £'m	29.0	17.3	68%
	H1 2025	H1 2024
	£'m	£'m
Revenue	4.8	3.6
Adjusted revenue*	4.8	3.5
Adjusted gross profit*	1.5	1.4
Gross Profit after marketing costs*	0.9	1.3
Overheads	(1.7)	(0.9)
Depreciation and amortization	(0.1)	-
Adjusted operating (loss)/profit*	(0.9)	0.4
Exceptional items	-	0.1
Share based payments	(0.1)	-
Amortisation of acquired intangibles	(0.3)	(0.3)
Operating (loss)/profit	(1.3)	0.2
Adjusted EBITDA*	(0.8)	0.4

 

*see glossary for reconciliation to nearest GAAP measure

Following the restructure in the prior year, the B2B segment represents the operations of Classic Collection. The prior year results have been restated to exclude the discontinued operations.

Despite a challenging high street market, Classic Collection has made solid progress with growth in bookings of 36% in H1. Overheads have increased YoY as a result of the transfer of activity following the restructure. Management remain focused on operational efficiency in H2.

Further strategic developments at the end of H1, including improved customer access to Ryanair flight inventory and the launch of Classic Collection in Ireland, give us confidence that the segment can return to profitability in H2.

Exceptional items

Exceptional items on a Group basis include £1.0m of costs offset by £0.1m of income in respect of refunds received from airlines. Costs of £1.0m relate to restructuring costs (£0.6m), legal and professional costs (£0.2m) and commission and stamp duty arising on the repurchase of shares (£0.2m).

Financing

In December 2023 an option was exercised to extend the expiry date of the revolving credit facility to December 2026. This was further extended until December 2027 in December 2024.

In  January 2024, an option was exercised to extend the facility by £25m in order to provide additional working capital headroom for continued growth, effective until July 2025. In May 2025 this additional facility was made permanent with the total facility of £85m now being in place until December 2027.

The cash draw down on this facility at 31 March 2025 was £40m (31 March 2024: £55m).

Details of the current facility limits and maturity dates with are as follows:

 

Facilities	£m	Issued	Expiry	Drawn at 31 March 2025
RCF - Lloyds Bank	£42.5m	Dec 2022	Dec 2027	£20m
RCF - NatWest	£42.5m	Dec 2022	Dec 2027	£20m
Total facility	£85m			£40m

 

 

Share based payments

The Group has a number of Long-Term Incentive Plan ('LTIP') schemes in place which vest subject to continued employment and in some cases performance targets.  In accordance with IFRS 2, the Group has recognised a non-cash charge of £2.0m (H1 24: £1.6m).

The share-based payment charge represents a non-cash charge for the expected cost of shares vesting under the Group's Long-Term Incentive Plan.

Taxation

The Group tax charge of £0.7m (H1 24: £0.1m) represents an effective rate of 24% (H1 24: 25%) which is less than the standard UK rate of 25% (H1 24: in line with the standard UK rate of 25%).

During the period, a Corporation Tax payment of £1.9m was made in respect of the current year and a payment of £0.9m was made in respect of the prior year.

Cash flow

£m	H1 2025	H1 2024	FY24
Profit before tax from continuing operations	3.3	2.8	26.5
Loss before tax from discontinued operations	0.4	(2.2)	(7.2)
Depreciation and amortization	8.0	7.3	15.1
Net finance income	(2.2)	(2.1)	(5.3)
(Profit)/loss on disposal of property, plant & equipment	(0.7)	-	0.6
Net loss on disposal of intangible assets	-	-	0.2
Loss on discontinued operations	-	-	4.6
Share based payments	2.0	1.6	2.3
Movement in working capital	(104.1)	(124.2)	(4.3)
Corporation tax paid	(2.8)	(2.1)	(3.9)
Net cash (outflow) / inflow from operating activities	(96.1)	(118.9)	28.6
Other cash flows
Proceeds from disposal of assets	2.6	-	-
Purchase of property, plant & equipment	(0.1)	-	-
Capitalised development expenditure	(5.2)	(5.5)	(10.2)
Capitalised intangible assets	-	-	(0.1)
Net finance income	2.3	2.2	5.4
Payment of lease liabilities	(0.9)	(0.9)	(1.8)
Equity dividends paid	(3.3)	-	(1.5)
Share buyback	(25.0)	-	-
RCF drawdowns	40.0	55.0	-
Total net cash flows	(85.7)	(68.1)	20.4
Opening cash balance	96.2	75.8	75.8
Closing cash at bank	10.5	7.7	96.2
Closing trust balance	224.2	195.9	139.5

 

 

Operating cash outflows of £96.1m represent investments made by the Group into online and offline marketing as well as the working capital required to fund our low deposit proposition. The reduction in working capital required YoY is due to one off benefits arising from the Ryanair partnership agreement. 

 

Cash at bank less RCF drawdowns has improved by £17.8m YoY, highlighting the cash generative nature of OTB's business model, despite the return to shareholders of approximately £30m through share buyback and dividends paid.

 

During the period, the Trust account balance has increased from £195.9m to £224.2m, which will unwind as customers travel over the summer months.

 

Dividend

In view of the current full year outlook and the Board's continued confidence in the Group's prospects, it has decided to declare an interim dividend of 1.0p per share, up 11% on the prior year (H1 24: 0.9p per share). The dividend will be paid on 27 June 2025 to shareholders on the register at 30 May 2025. The full year payout ratio is expected to be 25% of FY25 profit after tax, in line with the Group's capital allocation policy.

 

 

 

Shaun Morton                   Jon Wormald

CEO                                        CFO

13 May 2025                       13 May 2025

 

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES 

 

There are a number of potential risks and uncertainties which could have a material impact on the Group's performance over the remainder of the financial year and may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. 

 

The Board continues to monitor all principal risks, which remain broadly unchanged since the 2024 Annual Report. Key areas include demand volatility, reputational risk, regulatory change, and operational scalability. 

Recent geopolitical and fiscal developments have introduced additional macroeconomic uncertainty but holidays continue to be viewed by many consumers as essential. Recent high-profile cyber incidents affecting some UK retailers have highlighted the growing importance of cyber resilience across the sector. The Group maintains robust cybersecurity protocols and continues to invest in risk mitigation.

 

Save for the matters outlined above, the directors confirm there have been no material changes to the Group's principal risks and uncertainties since the publication of the 2024 Annual Report. Further detail can be found on pages 55 to 58 of the report, available at www.onthebeachgroupplc.com. 

 

 

 

On the Beach Group Plc

INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE 6 MONTHS ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT AND STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

 

For the 6 months ended 31 March 2025
			Restated*
		6 months ended 31	6 months ended 31	Year ended 30
		March 2025	March 2024	September 2024
	Note	£'m	£'m	£'m
		unaudited	unaudited	audited
Revenue	3,4	64.2	59.9	128.2
Cost of sales		(3.3)	(2.2)	(4.8)
Expected credit losses	12	(1.9)	(1.0)	(1.7)
Gross profit		59.0	56.7	121.7
Administrative expenses	5	(57.9)	(55.8)	(100.5)
Group operating profit	4	1.1	0.9	21.2
Finance costs		(0.8)	(0.4)	(2.4)
Finance income		3.0	2.3	7.7
Net finance income		2.2	1.9	5.3
Profit before taxation		3.3	2.8	26.5
Taxation	6	(0.7)	(0.1)	(6.3)
Profit for the period from continuing operations		2.6	2.7	20.2
Profit/(loss) from discontinued operations		0.4	(2.2)	(7.2)
Profit for the period		3.0	0.5	13.0
Other comprehensive income:
Net gain/(loss) on fair value hedges		1.2	(0.2)	0.4
Total comprehensive income for the period		4.2	0.3	13.4
Attributable to equity holders of the parent
Profit from continuing operations		2.6	2.7	20.2
Profit/(loss) from discontinued operations		0.4	(2.2)	(7.2)
Other comprehensive income/(loss)		1.2	(0.2)	0.4
Total comprehensive income for the period		4.2	0.3	13.4
Basic and diluted earnings per share from continuing operations attributable to the equity shareholders of the Company:
Basic earnings per share	8	1.6p	1.6p	12.1p
Diluted earnings per share	8	1.6p	1.6p	11.9p
Adjusted basic earnings per share **	8	3.7p	3.1p	14.1p
Adjusted diluted earnings per share **	8	3.6p	3.1p	13.9p
Basic and diluted earnings per share from total operations attributable to the equity shareholders of the Company:
Basic earnings per share                                                                                                     8		1.8p	0.3p	7.8p
Diluted earnings per share                                                                                                 8		1.8p	0.3p	7.7p
Adjusted profit measure ** Adjusted profit before tax (before amortisation of acquired intangibles, exceptional items and share based payments) **                                                      5		7.6	6.2	31.0

 

* The period ending 31 March 2024 is restated for the effects of the discontinued operations (see note 7).

**This is a non GAAP measure, refer to notes.