TORONTO — Flight Centre Travel Group has posted a year-end loss of US$369 million but the company says its FCM Travel Solutions and Corporate Traveller proved resilient, a rare bright spot amid the pandemic.

During the global shutdown, FCTG says the two business travel divisions landed a record amount of new business and pipeline of potential opportunities.

With a presence in 97 countries, FCM Travel Solutions brought in new business globally with total projected annual spend (pre-COVID) of $1.3 billion. FCM Travel Solutions is one of the top three global travel management companies and gaining market share.

Corporate Traveller, with a focus on SME companies, won $400 million of new business globally.

For fiscal year 2020 the two corporate divisions saw a profit before tax of about $47 million. FCTG says FCM Travel Solutions and Corporate Travellers were on track to top $10 billion in TTV before industry-wide activity slowed significantly from March.

Pre-pandemic FCTG had reached $150 million in global profits (including both its corporate and leisure businesses), for the first eight months of the fiscal year. Total Travel Value (TTV) had also been tracking at record levels through to Feb. 29.

Charlene Leiss, President of Flight Centre Travel Group Americas, said: “Our earnings for the first half of the year speak to our robust product offering, our unmatched expertise and superior customer service that appeal to travellers around the globe. What they don’t show you is the commitment, passion and fortitude of our nimble team.”

Leiss adds: “Although the pandemic created an exceptionally challenging environment, our leadership team made tough, strategic decisions on a global level at the onset of the pandemic to preserve the longevity of FCTG and ensure its ability to endure unprecedented losses over the last five months. The sacrifices that were made, as well the dedication and agility of our talented team of professionals enabled us to persevere and position ourselves well for recovery.”