WASHINGTON: Travel software company Datalex has reported higher profits and revenues for last year during which it agreed new deals with the likes of Lufthansa and IBM. Datalex said its profit after tax for the year to the end of December rose by 29% to $5.4m while revenues for the year increased by 19% to $55.3m from $46.6m. The revenue increase included a 15% increase in platform revenue to £26.4m on the back of new go-lives and the full year impact of the customers brought live during 2015.
The board has recommended a dividend of five US cents per share, up 25% on the dividend for 2015. Datalex provides commerce software to travel companies – and in particular airlines – which helps them to manage their connection to customers and increase the amount of revenue they generate from each passenger. The company said it brought a number of new airlines live on its platform during the year, including Swiss International Air Lines and two additional Hainan Group airlines – Tianjin Airlines and Air Changan. It also agreed a “strategic milestone” deal with Lufthansa Group, Europe’s largest group of airlines, which will see the airline group use Datalex’s digital commerce platform to retail all products and services across its digital channels.
During the year, the company agreed a partnership deal with IBM, which brings together Datalex’s digital commerce platform with IBM’s cognitive computing and artifical intelligence capabilities. The two firms will now work to develop a next generation cognitive travel retail product. “2016 was another year of strong performance and growth for Datalex, which further strengthens our position as a leader in digital commerce for travel retailers,” commented the company’s chief executive Aidan Brogan. “We delivered double-digit growth across key metrics, while significantly increasing investment in both our product and our people, to ensure this growth trajectory is sustainable into the future,” Mr Brogan said. “Our selection by the Lufthansa Group and our new partnership with IBM represent significant validations of both our product and our market strategy, and as a result, we are seeing a strengthening of our pipeline of new business opportunities, particularly among larger carriers,” he added.
