Aussie travel, leisure stocks recover from 2020 losses to post strong year

Helloworld Travel

31/12/2021 03:35

** Australian travel and leisure stocks post a positive 2021
as the economy recovered and borders opened, although
uncertainty lies ahead with the spread of the Omicron variant
    ** Most travel stocks rebounded this year from a
pandemic-struck 2020, but gains were capped by hard lockdowns in
Australia mid-year due to the Delta variant outbreak
    ** Major carrier Qantas Airways  QAN.AX  gains 2.7% for the
year vs a 31.8% slump in 2020
    ** Analysts at brokerage Citi say the stock is largely in
"wait-and-see mode", depending on how demand comes back with
open borders
    ** Sydney Airport  SYD.AX  posts biggest yearly rise since
2004, while Flight Centre Travel Group  FLT.AX  posts best year
since 2017
    ** Corporate Travel Management Ltd  CTD.AX , which will be
buying Helloworld Travel's  HLO.AX  corporate businesses in
Australia and New Zealand, posts a 26.3% gain in 2021
    ** RBC Capital Markets analysts believe the deal will give
CTD access to nearly 14% of the pre-COVID market share in the
Australian corporate travel market and a dominant position in
the country
    ** Citi says CTD is most suited to the recovery in travel,
but sees evidence that FLT might return post pandemic in
different shape as revenue margins in Leisure could impact the
outlook
    ** Ardent Leisure Group  ALG.AX  was the top gainer in the
leisure and entertainment sector, recording its best year so far
with a 94.2% gain in 2021, as of last close
    
 Company                              RIC     2021      2020
 Qantas Airways                       QAN.AX  2.7%      -31.8%
 Sydney Airport                       SYD.AX  35.4%     -24.1%
 Flight Centre Travel                 FLT.AX  11.5%     -60.03%
 Corporate Travel Management          CTD.AX  26.3%     -12.1%
 Helloworld Travel                    HLO.AX  -0.4%     -48.1%
 Crown Resorts                        CWN.AX  23.1%     -19.8%
 Star Entertainment                   SGR.AX  0%        -20%
 Ardent Leisure Group                 ALG.AX  95.7%     -46.9%
 Event Hospitality and Entertainment  EVT.AX  56.6%     -30.2%
 Webjet                               WEB.AX  2%        -46.4%
 
 (Reporting by Yamini C S)
 ((Yamini.CS@thomsonreuters.com;))