Ireland's Hostelworld prelim FY revenue up 2% on Elevate tool rollout boost

Hostelworld

26/03/2026 07:15

Corrects net income and operating profit numbers in Key Details table

Overview

Ireland social travel platform's preliminary 2025 net revenue rose 2% but slightly missed expectations

Adjusted EBITDA for 2025 was down 9% yr/yr, in line with company-provided consensus

Company repurchased GBP 3.9 mln of shares as part of ongoing buyback programme

Outlook

Hostelworld sees Q1 bookings growth of ~3% and revenue growth of >12% vs Q1 2025

Company targets low double-digit revenue growth in 2026 and 2027

Hostelworld expects adjusted EBITDA margin greater than 20% and free cash flow conversion of ~70%

Result Drivers

MARKETPLACE MONETISATION - Rollout of Elevate tool increased effective commission rates, supporting revenue growth, per CEO Gary Morrison

MARKETING EFFICIENCY - Improved marketing efficiency in H2, with direct marketing costs falling to 45% of revenue, contributed to stronger results

SOCIAL PLATFORM EXPANSION - Growth in social network engagement, launch of Social Passes, and addition of third-party inventory drove bookings and broadened revenue streams

Company press release: ID:nRSZ1702Ya

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
FY Revenue
Slight Miss*
EUR 93.80 mln
EUR 94.44 mln (7 Analysts)
FY EPS
EUR 0.05
FY Net Income
EUR 7 mln
FY Operating Profit
EUR 8.4 mln


*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 7 "strong buy" or "buy", no "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the online services peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Hostelworld Group PLC is GBp200.00, about 100% above its March 25 closing price of GBp100.00

The stock recently traded at 8 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 10 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

 (This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)