The Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) Travel Group Ltd (ASX:FLT) share price experienced a significant drop on Wednesday. After closing at $23.01 the previous day, shares fell to $21.04 in morning trading, marking an 8.6% decrease. This decline occurs while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shows a slight decrease of 0.3%.
The sharp decline in Flight Centre's share price, an ASX consumer stock, can be attributed to the company's revised profit guidance. The travel company has adjusted its profit before tax (PBT) estimate to a range of $316 million to $324 million. This updated forecast excludes approximately $4 million in trading losses associated with the closure of the Discova Central Americas (DCA) destination management company.
Previously, these losses were not factored into the company's fiscal year 2024 (FY 2024) guidance as the DCA business was still under review. When including these losses, the prior guidance would have suggested a PBT range of $304 million to $344 million.
Additionally, Flight Centre has projected a total transaction value (TTV) for FY 2024 of around $23.7 billion, reflecting an increase of $1.7 billion from FY 2023. This figure aligns with the company’s record result from FY 2019, despite experiencing significant airfare deflation throughout the year. The underlying profit margin is anticipated to range between 1.3% and 1.4%, up from 0.6% in the previous year.
Flight Centre's managing director, Graham Turner, addressed the situation by acknowledging the challenging market conditions during FY 2024. Turner highlighted that, despite these difficulties, the company achieved solid TTV growth as consumers continued to prioritize travel over other discretionary spending. However, the growth rate was affected by the closure of the Indian wholesale foreign exchange business and significant airfare price deflation in the latter half of the year.
Turner expressed optimism about the potential benefits of airfare deflation, suggesting that it could stimulate increased demand for international travel in the future. He also pointed to improvements in profit and revenue margins, particularly as the company's corporate business's productivity initiatives begin to take effect.
The company is scheduled to report its full FY 2024 results on August 28. Despite the recent losses, the Flight Centre share price remains up by 3% year-to-date.