CHINESE travel business Ctrip has pointed to its 2016 acquisition of Edinburgh travel booking firm Skyscanner has having a direct positive impact on its performance in the second quarter of this year.
The business, which is headquartered in Shanghai, has reported a 45 per cent rise in net revenue for the three months to RMB6.4 billion ($946 million).
Just under half of that figure - RMB3bn - came from transportation ticketing, which the firm said was "primarily driven by an increase in ticketing and the consolidation of Skyscanner's financial results since December 31, 2016".
Ctrip paid £1.4bn to acquire Skyscanner at the end of last year. In its results for the year to the end of December Skyscanner reported a 44 per cent increase in turnover to £158.3m and 54 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £17m.
According to Ctrip the Skyscanner business, which continues to operate as a standalone entity, has been boosted by a recently launched direct-booking function that allows customers to book trips with partner companies without leaving Skyscanner's site.
"Conversion rates of mobile traffic for direct-booking partners have increased by approximately 50 per cent," Ctrip said.
Ctrip chief executive Jane Jie Sun hailed the company's "strong operating and financial results in the second quarter", adding that the firm is confident it can "generate long-term value for shareholders".
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