Parash Jain

Parash Jain of HSBC requested quantification of the market size and expected share for the 'Old Friends Club' and 'Travel plus Entertainment' initiatives, along with recent growth trends.

Answer

CFO Cindy Wang projected the senior travel market ('Old Friends Club') could grow into a trillion-dollar-plus market in the next 3-5 years, highlighting its value in filling off-season demand. For 'Travel plus Entertainment,' she noted that demand for events like concerts and F1 races is very strong and currently exceeds supply, indicating a robust and growing business segment.

Parash Jain of HSBC asked about Trip.com's core competencies in key Asian markets driving its international expansion and whether US-China trade tensions have disrupted the travel business.

Answer

CEO Jane Sun outlined three core competencies: a one-stop shopping platform with strong cross-selling, excellent 24/7 customer service, and a user-friendly mobile app experience tailored for Asian markets. She noted that as volume grows, pricing and coverage competitiveness also improve. The second part of the question regarding trade tensions was not directly addressed.

Parash Jain from HSBC asked about the current dynamics and opportunities in the M&A space and how the company is thinking about its capital return policy given its steady cash flow generation.

Answer

CFO Xiaofan Wang stated that the company's first priority is organic growth and maximizing synergies within its existing portfolio of brands. Regarding capital allocation, she outlined four priorities: investing for growth, disciplined cost management, prudent leverage management, and providing consistent shareholder returns through dividends or buybacks.

Asked if the strong growth in the Terminals business was driven by North America and whether the Gemini network would bring more volume to APM Terminals compared to the previous 2M alliance.

Answer

The strong Q1 terminal performance was primarily driven by market volume growth, especially a 15% increase in North America. The Gemini network is a net positive for APM Terminals' volume because, unlike in the 2M alliance, there is no longer volume dilution from sharing with a partner's overlapping terminal assets. However, with overall utilization already high at 79%, significant further growth will require facility expansion.