Swiss duty-free retailer Avolta reported a 5.7% organic increase in its third-quarter turnover on Thursday, helped by strong demand during peak summer travel months.
The company, which runs shops at airports, on cruise liners, in seaports, and other tourist locations worldwide, posted a core turnover of 3.83 billion Swiss francs (€4.07 billion) for the third quarter of 2024, up from 3.67 billion Swiss francs (€3.90 billion) a year earlier.
Mid-Term Targets
The Basel-based company also confirmed its full-year outlook and mid-term targets.
"We are very pleased with our strong trading performance over the peak summer months," Chief Executive Xavier Rossinyol said in a statement.
The group, which operates in more than 1,000 locations across 73 countries and offers travellers brands ranging from Nestle to Starbucks and Burger King, has been benefiting from a strong rebound in global travel, particularly in Europe and the U.S., since pandemic-related lockdowns were lifted around the world.
Potential Share Buybacks
Avolta said it would return excess cash to shareholders via dividends and potential share buybacks over the coming years.
The company plans to cancel around 6.1 million treasury shares in 2024, which comprises 4% of issued share capital.
Rossinyol added, "Capitalizing on our global platform, we have a clear focus to grow the business organically expanding our profitability and cash generation, while targeting leverage of 1.5x to 2.0x.
"This focus on shareholder value is reflected in our reinforced capital allocation policy, according to which we will return excess cash to shareholders via dividends and potential share buybacks over the coming years.
"This starts with the cancellation of 4% of outstanding shares in 2024.”
Additional reporting by ESM
