Buoyed by China’s growing outbound travel demand and rising tourism expenditure, major Chinese tour operators like Utour Group and HNA-Caissa saw their revenues and net profits surge in 2016.
Utour Group, a major Chinese outbound tour operator based in Beijing, reported on April 25 that its operating revenue climbed 20.71% to RMB 10.1 billion in 2016. Net profit attributable to the company’s stakeholders was RMB 215 million, 15.08% more than previous year.
Utour was inaugurated on August 11, 1992, and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on January 23, 2014. The company operates travel and travel-related services including outbound tours, MICE, overseas education, immigration, sports tourism and overseas finance.
Revenues from the company’s outbound travel unit in 2016 increased 23.35% to RMB 9.243 billion, of which the wholesale operation accounted for RMB 7.44 billion, up by 27.32% YoY, and the retail operation was RMB 1.803 billion, a 9.27% rise from 2015.
Utour’s domestic counterpart, HNA-Caissa Travel Group, also saw its operating revenue surge 34.48% to RMB 6.64 billion in 2016. The company’s net profit attributable to its shareholders was RMB 213 billion, up by 3.3% YoY.
HNA-Caissa, a subsidiary of HNA Group, operates outbound tourism, MICE, aviation and railway catering, project investment and asset management. It completed a reverse merger with E-Food Group and was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on October 8, 2015.
The company’s travel service generated RMB 5.79 billion revenue, a 36% increase from a year ago. Net profit from this segment rose 24% YoY to RMB 207 million. (Translated by Jerry)
