Ctrip.com, China's largest online travel agency, beat financial performance expectations in the first quarter of this year thanks to expansion efforts both home and abroad.
The NASDAQ-listed company saw net revenue of 6.1 billion yuan (8.84 million U.S. dollars) in Q1, an increase of 46 percent year on year and rising 20 percent compared with Q4 2016, according to its financial statement.
Transportation tickets were the biggest contributor to revenue, growing by 48 percent year on year to 2.9 billion yuan in Q1, which was partly attributed to the company's acquisition of Skyscanner, a leading European airfare comparison website, last year.
"By leveraging Skycanner and other strategic overseas investments, we expect to further strengthen our international product offerings and improve user experiences for both Chinese and international travelers," said James Liang, executive chairman of Ctrip.
Accommodation and package tours helped Ctrip generate 2.1 billion yuan and 702 million yuan, respectively.
The income from operations in Q1 was 414 million yuan, compared with loss of 1.8-billion-yuan in the same period in 2016.
"We kicked off 2017 with great results with continuous healthy revenue growth and margin expansion. We have also been making great strides in penetrating into lower-tier cities and expanding internationally," said Jane Sun, Ctrip CEO.
Ctrip expects net revenue growth in Q2 to continue at a year-on-year rate of about 40 percent to 45 percent, the statement added.
