(Yicai) Feb. 22 -- Trip.Com Group's shares jumped to a record high after China's largest online travel agency said net profit surged 614 percent last year thanks to resilient travel demand.

Trip.Com [HKG: 9961] closed up 7.3 percent at HKD355.60 (USD45.46) a share in Hong Kong today. Its New York-listed stock [NASDAQ: TCOM] ended 1.1 percent higher yesterday at USD41.91.

Net profit was CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion) in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, the Shanghai-based company said in an earnings report released yesterday. Revenue soared 112 percent to CNY44.5 billion.

Pent-up demand for travel was released last year as China exited the Covid-19 pandemic. With many people eager to take vacations and explore again, travel bookings and spending surged.

“In 2023, China embarked on a significant journey of reconnecting with the world driven by the rising travel sentiment,” said Executive Chairman James Liang. “Our global business also experienced substantial growth fueled by our expanded market presence.

“With a continued focus on globalization and AI innovations, we are confident to build upon the success of 2023 and further explore the opportunities that lie ahead.”

Chief Executive Jane Sun added that the company was “pleased with the strong results achieved across our business segments in the past year.

“The global travel industry has shown remarkable resilience and is poised to sustain its growth trajectory,” she said. “To capitalize on this trend and unlock new opportunities, we remain committed to investing in technology and product innovation, enhancing customer services, and promoting sustainable development of the travel industry.”

Trip.Com's product development costs jumped 45 percent to CNY12.1 billion last year, accounting for 27 percent of its revenue.

In the fourth quarter, revenue surged 105 percent to CNY10.3 billion (USD1.5 billion) from a year earlier, mainly thanks to the recovery in tourism after the Covid-19 pandemic. But net profit fell to CNY1.3 billion (USD189 million) from CNY2.1 billion.

Trip.Com's outbound hotel and air reservations recovered to more than 80 percent of their pre-pandemic level of 2019 in the final quarter, compared with a 60 percent industry recovery in international air passenger volume, it noted.

Bookings on Trip.Com's global online travel agent platform jumped over 70 percent in the quarter from a year ago.

Editor: Martin Kadiev