(Yicai) Aug. 27 -- Trip.Com Group’s shares climbed after profit at the Chinese online travel agency soared six-fold in the second quarter as the firm’s outbound tourism business fully recovered to the level before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Trip.Com [HKG: 9961] closed 9.1 percent higher at HKD366.40 (USD47.97) a share in Hong Kong today, after earlier surging by as much as 11.5 percent. Its New York-listed stock [NASDAQ: TCOM] inched up 0.4 percent to USD42.34 yesterday.  

Net profit was CNY3.8 billion (USD527 million) in the three months ended June 30, compared with CNY631 million (USD88.5 million) a year earlier, the Shanghai-based firm said in its earnings report released today. Revenue rose 14 percent to CNY12.8 billion (USD1.8 billion).

Outbound hotel and flight reservations returned to 100 percent of their pre-Covid levels in the same period of 2019, outdoing the industry’s more than 70 percent recovery rate in terms of international flight capacity, Trip.Com noted.

Executive Chairman James Liang said in a statement that growth was driven by strong travel demand, especially for cross-border trips. On the firm’s earnings conference call, management observed that buying power has remained largely stable with last year despite an overall slowdown in consumption, and said travel is expected to remain robust in the long term.

Revenue from the accommodation business jumped 20 percent to CNY5.1 billion because of higher bookings on Trip.Com's Chinese sites, buoyed by higher demand for outbound and domestic trips. Transport ticket sales rose only 1 percent to CNY4.9 billion, while those for package tours and corporate travel soared 42 percent and 8 percent to CNY1 billion and CNY633 million, respectively.

“We are pleased with our strong growth and the resilience of travel consumption in China,” said Chief Executive Jane Sun. “This promising outlook fuels our enthusiasm for innovation and new initiatives. By collaborating with our partners, we are well-positioned for even greater success.”

Following a slew of new visa-free travel agreements with other countries, inbound tourists flocked to China in the first half. Inbound travel bookings doubled in the period, contributing 25 percent to Trip.Com's income from overseas platforms and soaring 70 percent in the second quarter alone, thanks to more visitors from Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, Europe, and the United States.

Editor: Futura Costaglione