TRAVEL BUG SPIKES WEBJET'S BOTTOM LINE

WE'VE all got the travel bug if Webjet's (ASX: WEB) sky-high half year result is any indication. 

As at the end of January 2016, the Melbourne-based online travel agency has seen 21 consecutive months of record TTV growth.

Webjet's revenue was up 26.8 per cent to $73.8 million and net profit after tax up 17.2 per cent to $10.7 million.

Webjet's managing director John Guscic says both wholesale and retail businesses welcomed significant market share growth in the period.

"We continue to see an acceleration of bookings shifting online in our B2C division and our planned investment growth strategy for the B2B division is currently underway and already delivering tangible results," says Guscic.

"We are seeing a continuation of these trends in the first part of 2H16, further propelling growth at a record TTV level."

In a statement to the market today, the company announced its bookings continue to outperform the market by more than five-fold, with domestic up 14 per cent and international up 24 per cent.

Webjet's business-to-business division, which offers hotels to travel agents through Lots of Hotels and SunHotels brands, is expected to double to around $11 million in the 2016-17 financial year.

The company will pay shareholders an interim dividend of 6.5c per share, up from 6.25c per share last year.