Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the 2026 annual general meeting of Helloworld Travel Limited. My name is Garry Hounsell, and I am the Chairman of the Board and Chair of this morning's annual general meeting. It's now 10:00 A.M., and as we have a quorum, I declare the meeting open. I confirm that the meeting has been properly constituted. The speeches and presentation for today's AGM were lodged with the ASX this morning. Today's meeting is being held in a hybrid format, in person and online, via the Computershare meeting platform and is being recorded. Shareholders who are attending online can listen to the speakers and follow the proceedings via the presentation. Shareholders and proxies can ask questions and submit votes online.
For shareholders joining online who might be unfamiliar with some of the functions of Computershare's platform, including asking questions and how to vote, we will provide instructions shortly. In the room with me today are Andrew Burnes, Helloworld's Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, on my right, and Cinzia Burnes, our Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, on my left. On my far left is Martin Pakula. On my far right is Peter Costello, and beside Peter is Rob Dalton, another Non-Executive Director. Also in attendance is Pete Knowles, our Group Company Secretary, Mike Smith, our Chief Financial Officer, Yusuf Ahmed, our Group General Manager, IT Services and Property.
In addition, Helloworld Travel Limited's auditor, KPMG, is represented by Chris Sargent, Partner, and Brenton Robb, Director, and our auditor will be available to answer questions on the conduct of the audit and the audit report for the year ended 30 June 2026. Representatives from Computershare, our share register provider, are also in attendance. Only shareholders, validly appointed proxies, and corporate representatives are entitled to ask questions. If you are attending online and wish to submit a written question, you may do so at any time during the meeting via the speech bubble icon on your screen. Type your question in the chat box on the right of the screen and then select send. Confirmation that your message has been received will appear above. While you can submit written questions from now on, all questions will be addressed at the relevant time in the meeting.
Although time constraints may prevent us from answering all questions, we will endeavor to address as many as possible during the meeting. Your questions may be moderated if we receive multiple questions on similar topics. For shareholders who are attending online and wish to ask a question verbally, please follow the instructions shown below the broadcast window on the online platform, which will take you to a phone number to call. If you are asking a question verbally, please state your full name before asking your question. For those shareholders who are attending online, to provide you with sufficient time to vote, I now declare voting open on all items of business. Voting today will be conducted by way of a poll on all items of business, and Computershare will act as the independent returning officer.
Proxies received prior to the meeting will be shown on the screen for each resolution dealt with today. For those attending online, and who are eligible to vote, a voting icon is now available on your screen. Selecting this icon will bring up the resolutions and present you with voting options. You are free to submit your votes at any time, and for shareholders who have not submitted a proxy for today's resolutions, you may now vote on all items. To cast your vote, simply select one of the options. There is no need to hit submit as the vote is automatically recorded. Please ensure you cast a vote for all resolutions. You will receive a vote confirmation notification on your screen. To change or cancel your vote, click the link that says "Click here to change your vote" at any time until the poll is closed.
Votes may be changed up to the time I declare that voting is closed. I will give you notice before I move to close the voting. As stated in the notice of meeting, as Chairman, I intend to vote those proxies left to the discretion of the Chairman in favor of all items. Following my introductory comments, the company CEO and Managing Director, Andrew Burnes AO, will give an address. This will be followed by the formal matters to be considered at today's AGM, including an opportunity for questions. The notice of meeting was sent to shareholders on 22nd September 2026 and lodged with the ASX on the same date. I propose that the notice of meeting and explanatory notes be taken as read. I also refer to the addendum to the notice of meeting sent to shareholders and lodged with the ASX on 5 October 2026.
Finally, shareholders were afforded the opportunity to submit written questions to our auditors, and I advise that our auditors at the moment have received no questions in writing. Before I pass to Andrew, I will make the following initial comments about Helloworld Travel's financial results for 2026. Helloworld delivered another solid year of growth despite increasingly challenging trading conditions during the second half of the financial year. On an underlying basis, total transaction value or TTV increased to AUD 4 billion, up 4.1% on the prior year, while revenue and other income increased by 8.1% to AUD 208.5 million. Underlying EBITDA was AUD 60.2 million, reflecting the strength and diversity of the group's operations. As the year progressed, geopolitical events, particularly the conflict in the Middle East, created disruption across global aviation networks and impacted traveler confidence in some markets.
While these events affected travel demand and profitability, the business remained focused on operational efficiency, strategic investment, and disciplined cost management. Without these external disruptions, the group would likely have delivered an even stronger financial outcome. The company declared a fully franked final dividend of AUD 0.05 per share, taking the total fully franked dividend for fiscal year 2026 to AUD 0.10 per share. This reflects the Board's confidence in the strength of the business and its ongoing commitment to delivering value to shareholders. The outcome of recent global disruptions have been a renewed appreciation for the value of the professional travel advice. Travelers continue to recognize the important role travel agents play in navigating increasingly complex travel environments, providing expertise, reassurance, and personalized service when it matters most.
At the same time, the company continues to invest in technology and innovation across the business to improve efficiency, enhance customer experiences, and support future growth opportunities. I would like to acknowledge the valuable contribution of my fellow directors and thank them for their guidance and support throughout the year. My sincere thanks also go to the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Andrew Burnes, the executive management team, senior management team, and their teams for their leadership, dedication, and continued focus on delivering our strategic objectives. Finally, I wish to recognize the efforts of our people across the business, our valued industry partners, and our extensive networks of agents and brokers across Australia and New Zealand. Their professionalism, commitment, and passion for helping customers travel continue to underpin the success of Helloworld Travel.
While the global operating environment remains dynamic, I remain confident in the strength of our people, our strategy, and our network. Helloworld Travel is well-positioned to build on the progress achieved this year, capitalize on future opportunities, and continue creating value for shareholders. I will now hand over to Andrew to provide further commentary on the company's financial year 2026 performance and outlook for the future.
Thank you, Garry, and thank you for joining us today at our AGM this morning, and for your continued support of Helloworld Travel. FY 2026 was obviously a challenging year. The travel industry experienced disruption stemming from the conflict in the Middle East, which affected airline capacity and travel patterns across a number of important international routes. Despite these impacts, Helloworld delivered a strong financial result. We achieved underlying EBITDA of AUD 60.2 million, above the midpoint of our revised guidance range, while also recording year-on-year growth in both TTV and revenue. These results reflect the strength of our business, the resilience of consumer travel demand, and the commitment of our people, agents, brokers, and partners. Throughout the year, we continued to invest in our networks, technology, and growth opportunities, ensuring the company remains well-positioned for the years ahead.
Our total transaction value grew to AUD 4.0 billion, an increase of 4.1% on FY 2025, and we delivered underlying EBITDA of AUD 60.2 million, up 8.4% from the prior year. Our revenue and income increased 8.1% to AUD 208.5 million, while revenue margin improved to 5.1%, up from 4.9% in FY 2025. Profit after income tax from continuing operations was AUD 1.3 million, and earnings per share from continuing operations was AUD 0.9 . However, these statutory results were impacted by a number of significant one-off items throughout the year.
Excluding these items, our underlying profit after income tax was AUD 30.2 million, broadly in line with the prior year's result of AUD 30.4 million. While underlying earnings per share was AUD 0.185 , compared with AUD 0.187 in FY 2025. We also remain the largest shareholder in Webjet Group Limited, holding just over 78.25 million shares, representing 20.47% of the company.
We continue to monitor the performance of that business and assess our options in relation to this strategic investment. The total dividends declared, fully franked for the financial year, was AUD 0.10 per share, a yield of 7% on our June 30, 2026 closing share price of AUD 1.42. Turning now to our retail business, Helloworld remains the largest network of independent travel professionals across Australia and New Zealand. With more than 10,000 agents and brokers delivering expert advice and personalized service to customers every day. Our retail networks comprise approximately 2,600 members, and throughout FY 2026, we continued to strengthen our position, attracting new agencies and members across both Australia and New Zealand.
Over the 18 months to June 2026, we welcomed an impressive 14 new members to our branded and associate networks, reinforcing the ongoing appeal of the Helloworld proposition and the value of being part of a strong and supportive travel network. The Helloworld Travel Academy remains an important pillar of our industry talent strategy. During FY 2026, more than 145 new advisors participated in our academy programs, while almost 6,700 agents were recorded across webinars, master classes, and training sessions, helping to support the next generation of travel professionals. We continued to make substantial investments in marketing activity throughout the year, delivering 210 retail campaigns across Australia and New Zealand. These campaigns leveraged a broad mix of TV, radio, digital, print, and outdoor advertising, driving our brand awareness and supporting lead generation for our members.
A particularly exciting development during the year was the announcement that Helloworld will become the inaugural naming rights partner of the new Helloworld Stadium in Penrith, New South Wales. The venue is expected to accommodate up to 30,000 spectators for sporting and entertainment events and is scheduled to open in early 2027, providing significant brand exposure and further strengthening awareness of Helloworld across key consumer markets in this area. Turning to awards and recognition of the business, Helloworld, our network members, and our businesses had significant success again in the National Travel Industry Awards held on October 10 in Melbourne. That success was spread across many of the agencies that form part of the broader business, and some of the businesses in which we have significant investments.
Winners included our own Air Tickets being named the most outstanding travel support service, and CruiseCo as the most outstanding wholesaler product plus service for the second year running. In New Zealand, Helloworld Travel won the 2026 Canstar Blue Most Satisfied Customer Award for travel agents, achieving the maximum five-star rating across all evaluated performance metrics. During FY 2026, we continued to strengthen our business through a number of strategic investments and acquisitions across Australia and New Zealand. Most notably, we acquired the remaining 50% of MTA, taking our ownership to 100% and further strengthening our position in the growing home-based travel advisor sector. We also expanded our corporate travel footprint in New Zealand through the acquisition of Gilpin Corporate Travel. We increased our investment in the Hunter Travel Group and acquired a 40% stake in Brighton Travelworld.
These investments reflect our ongoing commitment to growing the business, expanding our market presence, and positioning Helloworld for future opportunities. in September 2026, we announced that we had entered into a binding agreement to purchase 100% of Crown Currency Exchange. CCE, which operates 68 stores across Australia, made an underlying EBITDA of AUD 22 million in FY 2026. It was acquired by the vendor in 2019 and has expanded its footprint across Australia under the management of Emily Palermo. Both Emily Palermo and Greg Woolley, the owner of the business, will be remaining with the business in their respective capacities as chief executive officer and chairman. The business employs over 200 people, with the head office located in Hobart and outlets right across Australia. This acquisition is highly complementary to Helloworld's existing retail agency businesses and presents multiple opportunities for expansion across various retail networks.
Our wholesale division continues to be a significant contributor to the group and remains a key part of our travel distribution strategy. It plays an important role in supporting our agency and broker networks. Despite the operating challenges experienced during the second half of the year, our wholesale businesses delivered another strong performance. Total transaction value increased by 15.6% in Australia and 5% in New Zealand compared to FY 2025, reflecting both the strength of our brands and the ongoing demand for expertly curated travel experiences. Our wholesale marketing activities also continued to support growth across the business, driving product awareness, generating sales opportunities, and keeping travel advisors informed and engaged through targeted campaigns, training, and industry partnerships. Our wholesale cruise division remains an important and growing part of our business and is supported by dedicated cruise brands in Australia and New Zealand.
Sales increased 12.3% during FY 2026, reflecting the continued popularity of cruising and the strength of our specialist cruise offering. During the year, CruiseCo launched dynamic cruise packaging, delivering value-led holiday packages that combine cruise, air, and land arrangements with a particular focus on short and medium-haul destinations. As mentioned, we're very proud of the terrific achievement of CruiseCo's award, Most Outstanding Wholesaler, for the second year in a row. ReadyRooms continues to be a standout performer within our wholesale business and remains a key strategic platform for our travel advisor network. Developed and managed in-house, ReadyRooms provides agents with seamless access to a broad range of global accommodation and travel content through a single booking platform. During FY 2026, ReadyRooms achieved almost 50% growth in TTV across Australia and New Zealand, reflecting strong advisor adoption and increasing customer demand.
The platform now offers access to more than 210,000 hotels and 350,000 activities worldwide. While ongoing enhancements throughout the year improved content availability, search functionality, and the overall booking experience for agents. ReadyRooms is a great example of how our investment in proprietary technology continues to deliver tangible benefits for our networks whilst creating additional growth opportunities across the broader business. Our inbound division continues to play an important role in showcasing Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific to international visitors while supporting tourism operators and industry partners across the region. During FY 2026, our inbound business facilitated travel for more than 65,000 international visitors and delivered strong growth across several key source markets. We saw particularly encouraging growth from the United Kingdom and Germany, alongside increases from both existing and emerging markets.
Our inbound brands work with clients across 30 countries, supported by relationships with more than 300 international agent partners and approximately 4,000 supplier partners. These strong partnerships, combined with the expertise of our teams on the ground, position the division well to capitalize on the continued recovery and growth of international visitation across the region. Our air consolidation division, comprising Air Tickets and Express Tickets, continue to combine industry-leading ticketing expertise with a sophisticated suite of proprietary technology solutions supporting travel agencies, tour operators, and online travel businesses across local and international markets. The division provides efficient access to global airline content, ticketing, servicing, and post-ticketing support. During FY 2026, Air Tickets enhanced the automated refund technology significantly, reducing processing times for agents and customers, particularly during periods of industry disruption.
The business that maintains relationships with 154 airline partners globally, with automated systems now processing 98% of all tickets issued, delivering considerable efficiency and scalability across the operation. The platform is also supported by more than 6,800 active users worldwide. Again, we're proud that Air Tickets was recognized the most outstanding travel support service at the recent National Travel Industry Awards, reflecting the strength of both its technology and customer service offering. Our specialist events business, My Way Travel & Events, continues to build momentum as a provider of integrated travel experiences across sport, music, entertainment, and lifestyle events. By combining tickets, accommodation, transport, hospitality, and curated experiences into a single offering, the business provides customers with a seamless and convenient way to access some of Australia's most sought-after events.
During FY 2026, My Way Travel & Events strengthened partnerships with major sporting organizations, entertainment providers, and venue operators across Australia, whilst delivering strong demand for AFL Grand Final packages and a range of concert experiences at venues including Marvel Stadium and Accor Stadium . The business also expanded its sport travel offering through a new partnership with the Collingwood Football Club, enhancing the position in the growing sports and events travel market. As consumer demand for experience-led travel continues to grow, My Way Travel & Events is well-positioned to capitalize on this trend and drive further growth across the group. We continue to invest in technology and innovation, recognizing that industry-leading systems are critical to supporting the productivity, efficiency, and long-term success of our networks and businesses.
During FY 2026, we expanded and enhanced our suite of proprietary technology solutions, further strengthening the capabilities available to our agents, brokers, and business partners. A key milestone during the year was the launch of Resworld Next Generation, the next evolution of our flagship mid-office platform. Developed in consultation with our network members, Resworld Next Generation brings key agency functions together in a single integrated environment, helping to improve visibility, streamline workflows, and enhance operational efficiency. We also completed the rollout of Data Vantage, offering agency owners and managers deeper business intelligence and performance analytics. Building on the success of Data Check, the platform delivers actionable insights that support smarter decision-making and business growth.
Beyond these initiatives, our ongoing investment in digital tools and system enhancements across the group, including the Helloworld Trips app and customer-facing websites, ensures that our networks remain well-equipped to meet the evolving needs of both travel advisors and consumers. Our ongoing commitment to technology investment remains a key competitive advantage and positions Helloworld at the forefront of innovation within the Australian travel industry. Looking ahead, we remain optimistic about the future. Strong demand for travel, the continued value of professional advice and guidance, and the strength of our diversified business provides us with confidence in our opportunities ahead. While geopolitical events will continue to influence travel markets from time to time, demand for travel has remained remarkably resilient. History has shown that travelers quickly return to market once conditions stabilize, and we are well-positioned to capture that demand when it occurs.
Importantly, the increasingly complex nature of international travel continues to reinforce the value of professional travel advisors. Customers still seek expert guidance, personalized service, and trusted support throughout their travel journey, and this remains a key competitive advantage for our business and our networks. Forward bookings to depart in FY 2027 are showing growth of circa 10%. The demand for leisure travel from our key demographic subsets to all major global destinations is solid. During the September quarter, 52% of Helloworld's international Air Tickets sales were for premium class travel, much of which was accompanied by premium class accommodation, touring, and cruising experiences.
Based upon the unaudited results for the end of September 2026, our forward booking numbers through the 30th of June 2027, and our forthcoming acquisition of Crown Currency Exchange, which happens on Friday week, we expect underlying EBITDA for the full financial year to be in the range of AUD 78 million-AUD 84 million. This guidance is subject to no material adverse change in operating conditions over the remainder of the financial year. Supported by a diversified business model, strong industry partnerships, ongoing investment in technology, and a growing network of travel professionals, we believe Helloworld is well-placed to continue delivering sustainable growth, profitable operations, and long-term value for shareholders. Before I conclude, I'd like to acknowledge and thank the many people who continue to contribute to the success of our business.
To our employees across Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, our dedicated agents and brokers, our industry and supplier partners, our customers, fellow directors, and our shareholders, thank you for your ongoing support, commitment, and contribution throughout the year. The strength of Helloworld has always been built on the quality of its people and the relationships we maintain across every part of the business. I'm grateful for the role each of you play in our continued success. Thank you for joining us today and for your ongoing support of Helloworld Travel. I look forward to working together as we continue to grow and strengthen the business in the years ahead, and to speaking with you again at our 2027 annual general meeting. I now hand back to you, Garry.
Thanks, Andrew. We will now move to the formal business of the meeting, where there are five items of business for today as set out in the notice of meeting, and the addendum thereto. Four of those are to be voted on. First item of business is to receive and consider the financial statements and the reports of the directors and of the auditor for the year ended 30 June 2026. There will be no vote on this item as it is a discussion item only. Are there any questions or comments in relation to the financial report, directors report or auditor's report? As previously mentioned, you may ask our auditors, Chris Sargent and Brenton Robb, questions relevant to the conduct of the audit or the preparation and content of the auditor's report.
We have a question.
Why don't we do it now then?
Question here from [Scott Nelson], Goldman. The question is, has the board had any more progress on its plans for its holding with Webjet, with consideration of doing a deal with Ariadne, BGH Capital and Webjet for a combined bid? Otherwise, it's just a standoff between two large groups whilst the standalone performs.
We have a question at this time.
Thank you for that question. The board continues to review our position. I will pass across to Andrew Burnes for any further comments, but we are reviewing our position. The share price of Webjet at the moment, and has been for some time, has been very disappointing and of concern to this board, and we have had those discussions with the directors of Webjet. But Andrew, I will pass across to you because you are closer to it than I am.
Thanks very much, Garry, for that. I think that our situation at the moment with Webjet is that we continue to have conversations with them about, firstly, commercial opportunities for Helloworld within the Webjet business. We are not having active conversations with any other partners or any other potential partners in that business at present. Obviously it cannot stay like that forever, but, at the moment, we are focused on our Crown Currency acquisition, and we will look for some more positive outcomes, particularly in the half-yearly results, which Webjet, their half year finishes on 30 September. So they will be coming out in November with their half-yearly results, and we hope that that business is improving.
We have a seat at the table. If any of those other investors ever want to do something or come and talk to us, we are happy to talk. At the moment, as Andrew said, we have got other matters that we are concentrating on at the present time. Anything else? Mike? Okay. There being no further questions, we now move on to the items of business for which a vote is required. As previously stated, voting on the resolutions today will be conducted by a poll. If you are attending online, you can submit your vote at any time during the meeting. Details of the proxy votes will be displayed on the screen as each resolution is considered. Item two relates to the adoption of the remuneration report for the year ended 30 June 2026, which is set out in the 2026 annual report on pages 34 to 41.
The resolution is now displayed. The Corporations Act requires a resolution for the adoption of the remuneration report to be put to a vote at the company's annual general meeting. The vote on this resolution is advisory only and does not bind the Directors of the company. However, the vote may have implications under the Corporations Act, and a summary of those implications can be found on page five of the notice of meeting.
During this item, you will have an opportunity to ask questions and make comments on the remuneration report. As Chairman of the Remuneration Committee, I am also available to answer any specific questions you may have on Helloworld Travel Limited's remuneration policies. I will begin discussion on this item with some opening comments. The 2026 financial year proved challenging, with the conflict in the Middle East disrupting travel plans and forward bookings, negatively impacting the company's profitability.
Despite these conditions, the business remained focused on delivering for customers, supporting its networks, and advancing its strategic priorities. The leadership team once again demonstrated resilience and a strong operational focus throughout the year. The Remuneration Committee believes that the FY 2026 remuneration outcomes fairly recognize the performance delivered by our executive KMP and acknowledges their commitment and dedication to the business, particularly during periods of disruption. We thank them for their efforts during the year. There were no LTIP shares allocated to executives during fiscal year 2026. However, the Board, at the present time, is reviewing the remuneration system for executives going into fiscal year 2027, and we will have more to talk about that at a future time. Does anyone have any questions or comments regarding the remuneration report? The proxy position on the resolution, being resolution one, is now displayed.
As mentioned earlier, the final voting results will be determined by way of a poll at the end of all resolutions. Item three relates to the re-election of Martin Pakula as a Director and is now displayed. The explanatory notes in the notice of meeting contain particulars of Mr. Pakula's skills and experience. Does anyone have any questions or comments in relating to this resolution? The proxy position on this resolution, being resolution two, is now displayed. The resolution will be determined by way of a poll at the end of all resolutions. Item four relates to the election of Peter Costello AC as a Director and is now displayed. The explanatory notes in the notice of meeting contains particulars of Mr. Costello's skills and experience. Does anyone have any questions or comments in relation to this resolution?
The proxy position on the resolution, being resolution three, is now displayed, and the resolution will also be determined by way of a poll at the end of all resolutions. As this next item of business relates to me, I will hand over to Andrew Burnes, who will chair this resolution.
Thank you, Garry. Item five relates to the re-election of Garry Hounsell as a director and is now displayed. The explanatory notes in the 5th of October 2026 addendum to the notice of meeting contains particulars of Mr. Hounsell's skills and experience. Does anyone have any questions or comments in relation to this resolution? Discussion is now closed. The proxy position on the resolution, being resolution four, is now displayed. This resolution will also be determined by way of a poll at the end of all resolutions. I will now pass back to the Chairman.
Thank you, Andrew. As all items have now been put to the meeting, voting will now be undertaken by poll, and I note that the poll is open. Please ensure that you have cast your vote on all resolutions, as voting will close shortly. I will now pause for a minute to allow you time to finalize your votes. Thank you, everybody. There are no further questions, and I declare now that the poll is closed. As it will take some time for the poll results to be known, once compiled and checked, the results will be announced to the ASX later today and will also be made available on the company's website after the meeting. Before I close the meeting, are there any final questions from shareholders? There being no questions, may I thank our board for all of their efforts over the past year.
Importantly, may I extend the thanks and appreciation of the board to our staff across the business. Finally, I thank you, all of our shareholders, for your loyal support, and we look forward to the opportunities ahead. I now declare the meeting closed.