April 28 (Reuters) – Online travel agency Booking Holdings cut its annual revenue growth forecast on Tuesday and said the war in the Middle East could impact bookings through the end of June, sending its shares down 4% in after-hours trading.
The company said room night growth was impacted by about 2 percentage points in the first quarter because of the conflict, which erupted in late February.
An uncertain second half of the year threatens the recovery in demand for the travel industry as trade volatility and prolonged wars could further push up costs for customers.
Earlier on Tuesday, Hilton Worldwide also hinted at weaker room revenue in the Middle East and North Africa region due to travel disruptions.
Norwalk, Connecticut-based Booking Holdings said it now expects annual revenue growth to be in high single-digits, compared with its prior forecast of low double-digits.
Gross bookings for the first quarter came in at $53.8 billion, up 15% from a year earlier.
It reported a quarterly adjusted profit of $1.14 per share, compared with the analysts’ average estimate of $1.08, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Total revenue for the three months ended March 31 was $5.53 billion, up 16% from a year earlier. Analysts had expected $5.56 billion.
(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Sriraj Kalluvila)
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