(Yicai Global) Dec. 16 -- Trip.Com Group’s stock price advanced after the Chinese online travel agency logged better-than-expected revenue in the third quarter, though its loss widened 31 percent from the previous three months.

Trip.Com [HKG: 9961] closed up 1.7 percent in Hong Kong today at HKD194 (USD24.86), after falling 1 percent in the morning session. Its New York-listed shares [NASDAQ: TCOM] slid 2.8 percent to USD24.28 yesterday.

Revenue fell 9 percent to CNY5.3 billion (USD831 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30 from the previous quarter and 2 percent from a year ago, mainly due to natural disasters and flareups of Covid-19 in China, the Shanghai-based firm’s unaudited earnings report showed yesterday. The market expected CNY5.23 billion.

Its net loss was CNY849 million (USD131 million), up from CNY647 million in the previous quarter and compared with a net profit of CNY1.6 billion in the same period last year.

Trip.Com “continued to experience steady recovery of both domestic and overseas business,” the company said, though Covid-19 infections resurfaced in some regions of China in August and September, curbing travel demand.

Income from bookings for accommodation fell 11 percent to CNY2.2 billion from the second quarter, while that from transport ticketing dropped 12 percent to CNY1.8 billion. Corporate travel slid 13 percent to CNY338 million.

Revenue from packaged tours rose 7 percent to CNY392 billion from the prior quarter, buoyed by an increase in leisure travel demand in July before the reemergence of Covid-19. International flight bookings jumped about 40 percent, mainly thanks to a pickup in the European and US markets.

“As the world is moving ahead and international travel becomes realistic once again, we face many challenges for global recovery,” said Chief Executive Jane Sun. “With crisis comes opportunity. We are working hard to seize opportunities by investing more in services, products, and technology to reinstate traveler confidence, and to pursue the perfect trip for a better world.”

The company did not provide guidance for the current quarter.

Editor: Futura Costaglione