• Hitit saw a 67% increase YoY in revenues (HTTBT) in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year, while the number of passengers served by the airlines partnered with Hitit witnessed a remarkable 64% growth during 2022-2023.
• The company, having achieved an EBITDA margin of 40% during this period, attracted significant attention through the signing of the Turkish Airlines Anadolujet Passenger Service System Master Software and Support Services agreement in January-March 2023.
• The company expects to close the year 2023 with a growth rate of 33-38% and an EBITDA margin of 43-48%.
Hitit, Turkey's largest service exporter in airline & travel IT solutions (HTTBT), has announced its first-quarter results for 2023. According to the disclosed balance sheet, Hitit increased its revenues by 67% compared to the same period last year, reaching US$6.3 million in the first three months of this year. The number of passengers served by the airlines partnered with Hitit experienced a remarkable 64% growth, while the EBITDA margin reached 40% during this period.
Nevra Onursal Karaağaç, Hitit’s Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, stated that the company serves 65 Partners across 47 countries as of March 31, 2023. She said, "Our Partners, using Hitit's technology, exchange data with the customs and border systems of 84 countries today, operate flights to more than 700 airports, and integrate with more than 60 banks and payment systems using Hitit infrastructure."
The Turkish Airlines’ Anadolujet is the first significant achievement of 2023
Ms. Karaağaç stated that the most important achievement in the first quarter of 2023 was winning the tender for the Passenger Service System Master Software and Support Services Contract of Turkish Airlines' subsidiary, Anadolujet. She said, "On February 23, 2023, we signed a contract with Turkish Airlines, specifically for their subsidiary - Anadolujet, and started the necessary preparations for system integration. The contract period will be five years, starting from the completion of integration process and the commencement of utilization by the Anadolujet brand. As a local Türkiye-based technology company that has established a solid reputation in the sector, we are proud to work together with our national flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, on such a strategic project."
Ms. Karaağaç noted that international air transportation numbers are now approaching pre-Covid-19 levels, and emphasized that Hitit has intensified its sales and marketing efforts to take advantage of this upturn. She continued, "Looking at IATA's quarterly data, we see that domestic flights, in particular, have reached 98.9% of pre-Covid figures. In international flights, 88% of pre-Covid figures have been reached. The lifting of travel restrictions in China has had a significant impact on the rapid growth of the Asian market again.”
“This balances the negative effects of global rising inflation and geopolitical crises. On the other hand, Hitit's wide range of Partner segments spread across several regions can offset any possible adverse developments occuring within 1-2 regions. In addition to new contracts, 10 new airline system integration projects were completed and activated in Q1 2023 as a result of contracts signed in previous periods.”
“Nigeria-based Air Peace, which flies to the most destinations in Africa, and Surinam Airways, Surinam’s national carrier, have also started using Hitit's PSS solutions. These two airlines will provide services to their passengers using Hitit’s technology for the next five years.”
Hitit AI Platform Established
Sezer Tuğ Özmutlu, Hitit’s Chief Finacial Officer, emphasized that approximately 76% of the earnings were in foreign currency (USD or EUR), while about 60% of the costs were in Turkish Lira (TRY). Özmutlu noted that the EBITDA amount reached US$2.5 million, representing a 23% increase YoY compared to the same period of the previous year. She further stated, "The EBITDA margin, however, experienced a significant decrease of 14% due to the implementation of IFRS 15 and macro factors, reaching 40% compared to the same period of the previous year. As part of the projects conducted within the scope of Technopark legislation, we made a US$2.1 million R&D investment and a US$200,000 investment in licenses, hardware, and equipment during the Q12023.”
“Our AI Platform has been established – Three areas have been identified: improving customer experience, operational excellence, and revenue-enhancing activities. Work on weather and delay prediction, dynamic pricing, and personalization is progressing rapidly. We continue to enhance our collaborations with leading Cloud infrastructure providers. The cost-reducing and revenue-increasing effects of these investments are expected to be observed starting from the third quarter of this year."
Year-end growth target in the range of 33-38%
Ms. Özmutlu emphasized that the company continues its investments to achieve its goals, in addition to its solutions and service production, sales & marketing activities in line with its growth strategy. Within this framework, she stated that they expect a growth in US dollar-based revenue between 33% and 38% by the end of 2023, an EBITDA margin in the range of 43% to 48%, and a net profit margin in the range of 25% to 30%. Özmutlu also mentioned that the investment-to-revenue ratio is projected to be in the range of 30% to 35%.