SiteMinder (ASX:SDR), the hotel booking platform, reported a significant increase in its December half earnings, according to Citi analyst Siraj Ahmed. The company’s EBITDA reached $12.3 million, a substantial jump from $5.3 million in the previous corresponding period. However, this figure fell approximately 9 per cent short of consensus expectations. SiteMinder provides cloud-based software to hotels that helps them manage and automate the distribution of rooms online. The platform aims to streamline the booking process for accommodation providers.
After adjusting for lower-than-anticipated research and development capitalisation, alongside one-off restructuring costs, the underlying loss amounted to $4 million. Ahmed noted that this adjusted figure aligns with Citi’s expectations. The company experienced robust growth in constant-currency annual recurring revenue (ARR), which increased by 27 per cent year-on-year. Additionally, SiteMinder added 2,900 properties to its network, slightly surpassing Citi’s projections.
Gross margin also saw improvement, rising to 67.8 per cent from 66.9 per cent in the first half of FY25. The momentum in dynamic revenue-plus is building, with anticipated gains expected to materialise ahead of the second half of FY26. Despite these positive indicators, currency exchange headwinds since December 31 are projected to negatively impact full-year revenue, potentially reducing it to $275 million.
This figure is slightly below Citi’s earlier forecast of $278 million. However, the full-year EBITDA is expected to remain on track at $30 million, although this is approximately 8 per cent below the consensus estimate. Despite the mixed financial results, SiteMinder’s shares experienced a positive movement, gaining 14.3 per cent on Wednesday.
