Flight Centre Travel Group Limited

Flight Centre Travel Group said underlying EBITDA increased 4% year on year, while underlying PBT was held back by a $16 million increase in net interest expense. Management also cited around $60 million of FY26 profit impact in Leisure from the Middle East war, plus $5 million of FX translation impact and the removal of the Pedal profit share in the current year. In Corporate, underlying PBT rose 28% to $240 million, and Corporate Traveller reached AUD 5 billion TTV for the first time. Leisure TTV increased 7.4% to $12.6 billion, but final underlying PBT was $139 million after a Q4 that was approximately $2 million in profit versus about $45 million in FY25 Q4. For FY27, management did not give formal guidance, saying it will be provided at the AGM in November; they did say corporate results are expected to be second-half weighted, Leisure expects some first-half growth if conditions hold, and July began with a record Leisure TTV month.

Graham Turner’s message was that the business is more resilient and diversified than the headline FY26 profit suggested. He emphasized the company’s ‘defensible moat’ in supplier relationships, human expertise, proprietary platforms, brand trust and customer data, and said the group is investing in AI, loyalty, new sectors and selective M&A while also keeping balance sheet strength and buybacks in view. His tone was cautiously upbeat: acknowledging ongoing geopolitical volatility, but pointing to record July trading, improving U.S. and U.K. Leisure demand, and a playbook for navigating disruption without abandoning long-term growth.

Adam Campbell framed FY26 as disappointing on underlying profit, but still described many underlying metrics as positive, including TTV, statutory PBT, EBITDA, PAT, EPS, cost reductions in the second half and record NPS. He said the Middle East war primarily hit Leisure and Touring, while Corporate was partly cushioned by productivity gains and Asia recovery; he also cited $5 million of FX translation headwind and the exclusion of Pedal profit share. On capital allocation, he highlighted the completed $200 million buyback, another up to $200 million buyback announced, proactive management of convertible notes, and increased dividends, calling these signs of balance sheet strength. He later said the productive operations investment being shifted above the line is around $12 million, the loyalty investment below the line was around $34 million, and the effective tax rate is expected to stay relatively high around 29% to 30%.

Analysts focused on whether the Leisure business could recover most of the $60 million war-related headwind, what exactly was driving the Corporate first-half drag, and whether the productivity investments were actually showing up in the P&L. Management said Leisure is reasonably optimistic if geopolitics do not worsen, and that July and August booking conversion have been encouraging; they also said first-half Leisure can grow on both top and bottom lines if momentum continues. In Corporate, Chris Galanty clarified that the above-the-line productive operations cost is mainly technology-related rather than travel consultant headcount, and said the business expects second-half weighting as new wins are implemented and productivity benefits flow through. On M&A and buybacks, management said they are open to specialist acquisitions in core markets, but will balance that against the repurchased shares and convertible notes, with the buyback restarting in the next few days.