Feb 28 (Reuters) - Spanish travel booking group Amadeus said on Wednesday it expects its revenue to grow by between 11% and 14.5% this year after a solid 2023 boosted by the world travel post-pandemic recovery which allowed it to raise its dividend by two thirds.
"We are optimistic about our growth in 2024 and beyond," Chief Executive Luis Maroto said in a statement.
Adjusted net profit last year jumped 60% from the previous year out of revenue which rose 21%, Amadeus said. As a result it raised its dividend paid out of 2023 profit to 1.24 euros per share, from 0.74 euros the year before.
After the two-year pandemic slump, Amadeus has continued to benefit from a leisure travel boom despite high inflation rates and tightening monetary conditions.
Still, the company signalled a slowdown in the fourth quarter as booking cancellations rose - due to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East - mainly in North America, the Middle East and Africa.
"The recovery in global air traffic during the fourth quarter continued, albeit at a slower pace than prior quarters," the company said.
Amadeus' net profit in the fourth quarter jumped to 248 million euros ($268.46 million) from 181 million euros in the same period a year earlier.
The net result was higher than the LSEG-compiled analyst consensus of 236 million euros.
($1 = 0.9238 euros) (Reporting by Jakub Olesiuk and Matteo Allievi; Editing by Inti Landauro and Christopher Cushing)
