Despegar.com, Corp. (NYSE: DESP) reported Q4 EPS of $0.04, $0.02 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.06. Revenue for the quarter came in at $127.8 million versus the consensus estimate of $126.03 million.

• Transactions up 11% year-over-year
• Room Nights up 8% YoY
• Estimated Air Market share grew 130 basis points YoY
• Gross bookings reached $1.2 billion, a year-over-year increase of 28% on an FX neutral basis (down 4% as reported)
• Excluding Argentina, transactions, room nights and gross bookings increased 18%, 33%, and 16% YoY, respectively
• Revenues totaled $133 million, up 9% on an FX neutral basis (down 13% as reported)
• Packages, Hotels and Other Travel Products accounted for 62% of total revenue in 4Q18, up 567 basis points from fourth quarter 2017
• Mobile transactions up 34% year-over-year, accounting for 36% of total transactions in 4Q18
• Approximately 49 million cumulative mobile application downloads as of December 31, 2018, up 27% year-over-year
• Adjusted EBITDA decreased 58% year-over-year. Excluding Argentina, Adjusted EBITDA rose by $8.7 million year-over-year
• Operating cash flow of ($5.4) million in 4Q18, compared to $25.2 million in 4Q17
• Repurchased 605,458 shares in 4Q18 for a total cost of $10.2 million at an average price per share of $16.88
• Net Promoter Score (NPS) up 780 bps YoY to 68%

Commenting on the Company’s results, Damián Scokin, CEO stated: “We are pleased that our fourth quarter results show the successful execution of our strategy to gain market share and further improve our customer service. At that same time though these actions are impacting short term profitability. Although the Latin American markets, particularly Argentina, contracted during the quarter, our gross bookings, on a FX neutral basis, increased 28% and we continued to gain market share. Reflecting the actions taken and the resiliency of our business model, mobile transactions were up 34%, and Packages, Hotels and Other Products accounted for 62% of total revenue, an increase of more than 500 basis points from the same period in the prior year. Additionally, for the full year, we gained market share in air, grew our room nights by 18% and saw an increase in NPS. Strong execution of our strategic plan from pricing to new initiatives, is helping us address continued costs and foreign exchange pressures.

“We are also seeing the benefits of our investment in brand-building and our continuous customer improvement initiatives, including the opening of call center across our seven key markets and more recently our tour operation activities. We strategically invested in the most promising opportunities and functionalities which is attracting customers to our broad travel related options. In a dynamic and highly challenging operating environment in 2018, we grew our business while strategically invested for the future.

“We are fortunate to participate in a large, over $100 billion industry, with attractive long-term growth prospects. More and more people in Latin America are going online to plan their trips. We have built an omni-channel infrastructure that has the right products and services to ensure our consumers have a great travel booking experience no matter what platform they chose. Delivering superior value and customer service will continue to underpin everything we do. We are focused on further market share gains and driving long term profitable growth. We are taking a balanced and disciplined approach to further investing in the business. Looking ahead, we are very excited by the future we see for Despegar and believe we are on the right path to maximize our growth potential. We have a healthy balance sheet that gives us flexibility to make the necessary investments to drive long-term shareholder value. In summary, we believe we are well positioned for long-term marketplace success and confident Despegar’s sustained industry leadership and ability to gain market share will continue,” concluded Mr. Scokin.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Despegar.com, Corp. (DESP) click here.