BEIJING: Ctrip.com Inc posted a net loss of 1.58 billion yuan (US$240 million) in the first quarter after acquiring loss-making Qunar, the country’s No. 1 online travel agency said yesterday.
The travel platform’s net loss of 1.58 billion yuan in the January-March period beat analysts’ expectations of a 3.62 billion yuan loss. Ctrip’s revenue surged 80 percent from the same quarter a year ago to 4.18 billion yuan.
Ctrip’s loss was due to a one-off compensation payment to former senior executives of Qunar after Ctrip acquired the Baidu-invested firm in a share swap with Baidu in October.
Excluding share-based compensation charges, Ctrip’s net profit was actually 257 million yuan, compared with 33 million yuan a year ago.
Nasdaq-listed Ctrip is expected to post a net profit of above 100 million yuan in the second quarter, the firm said during a phone conference yesterday.
In the first quarter, Ctrip boosted revenue from hotel accommodation by 70 percent year on year to 1.6 billion yuan. Revenue from transport ticketing surged 106 percent to 1.9 billion yuan.
