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HBX GROUP ANNOUNCES THIRD QUARTER 2026 TRADING UPDATE

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LONDON, July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — HBX Group International plc (HBX Group, the Company, the Group, HBX.SM) today issues a Q3 trading update for the three months ended 30 June 2026. 

Total Transaction Value (TTV) up +12% to €2.4bn, and Revenue of €177m, down -3% year-on-year at constant currency, reflecting resilient leisure travel demand, targeted commercial actions, and a gradual recovery in previously disrupted travel corridors.Continued execution against strategic priorities, with progress across accommodation growth, ecosystem expansion, AI, and the expansion of key partnerships.Disciplined capital allocation, with the €100m share buyback programme progressing as planned, the maiden interim dividend of 7.5 euro cents per share (€18m) paid in June, and the completion of the Bridgify acquisition.FY26 guidance ranges narrowed around the midpoints, supported by encouraging booking momentum and improving trends in previously disrupted travel corridors, reinforcing confidence in full-year delivery.Leadership transition announced with the planned retirement of Nicolas Huss as CEO and Board Director effective 30 September 2026, with Brendan Brennan, current CFO, appointed as interim CEO.

Nicolas Huss, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“We continued to execute well during the third quarter, delivering resilient TTV growth in a challenging market environment.

Growth reflected our clear strategy and focus on execution, supported by strategic partnerships, ecosystem expansion and the increasing deployment of AI across the organisation. Our maiden dividend, paid in June, and ongoing share buyback programme underscore our commitment to disciplined capital allocation.

As expected, trading conditions during the quarter continued to be affected by the Middle East conflict. Encouragingly, leisure demand remained resilient, demand and booking trends improved as the quarter progressed and we saw early signs of recovery across several previously disrupted travel corridors. Our diversified footprint, strong partner relationships and agile commercial model enabled us to respond effectively, underpinning our confidence in delivering FY26 guidance.

Leading HBX Group has been a great privilege and I am planning my retirement confident in our future success. We remain focused on execution, growing market share, expanding our ecosystem and embedding AI across the business to support sustainable long-term growth, profitability and cash generation.”

Third quarter and nine-month 2026 Financial Performance Summary

Q3

2026

Q3

2025

Change

 

Change
constant
currency[1]

9M

 2026

9M

2025

Change

 

Change
constant
currency1

TTV[2] (€m)

2,418

2,176

+11 %

+12 %

6,188

5,546

+12 %

+15 %

Revenue (€m)

177

182

-3 %

-3 %

486

501

-3 %

-1 %

Group TTV increased to €2.4bn in the third quarter of the year, up +12% on the prior period at constant currency, reflecting strategic mix changes and targeted commercial actions to prioritise growth with increased exposure to the fastest-growing supply and distribution channels. Growth was supported by increased contribution from shorter lead-time bookings, Third Party Supply (TPS) and Online Travel Agents (OTAs).

The Middle East disruption represented an estimated -4ppt headwind to Group TTV growth during the quarter. Excluding this impact, TTV growth would have been approximately +16% and revenue growth approximately +1% at constant currency.

Revenue of €177m decreased -3% in constant currency. Take rate (revenue as a proportion of TTV) was 7.3%, 1.1ppt contraction year-on-year, reflecting deliberate mix changes to prioritise growth, commercial actions and strategic investments. The pace of year-on-year take rate decline improved compared with H1 and Q2, consistent with the Group’s expectation that take rate changes would progressively moderate.

Performance in the quarter was driven by continued TTV growth across most of the Group’s largest source markets, including the US, the UK and China, helped by targeted commercial actions with key distribution partners.

€m

TTV 
by destination

Q3

 2026

Q3

 2025

Change

Change
constant
currency1

9M

 2026

9M

 2025

Change

 

Change
constant
currency1

Europe

1,324

1,211

+9 %

+10 %

2,895

2,601

+11 %

+13 %

Americas

721

597

+21 %

+22 %

1,974

1,728

+14 %

+19 %

MEAPAC[3]

373

368

+1 %

+2 %

1,319

1,217

+8 %

+12 %

€m

Revenue
by destination

Q3

 2026

Q3

 2025

Change

 

Change
constant
currency1

9M

 2026

9M

 2025

Change

 

Change
constant
currency1

Europe

94

98

-4 %

-5 %

223

227

-2 %

-1 %

Spain

24

25

-4 %

-4 %

57

56

+2 %

+2 %

Rest of Europe

70

73

-4 %

-5 %

166

171

-3 %

-2 %

Americas

54

52

+4 %

+4 %

161

164

-2 %

+2 %

US

33

29

+14 %

+14 %

92

92

0 %

+5 %

Rest of Americas

21

23

-9 %

-9 %

69

72

-4 %

-1 %

MEAPAC3

29

32

-9 %

-6 %

102

110

-7 %

-4 %

The Group’s agile operating model, global platform, and diversified demand base supported a resilient performance in MEAPAC and strong growth elsewhere. In response to the conflict in the Middle East, HBX Group rapidly redirected commercial focus and resources towards the higher growth segments and travel corridors. Targeted pricing, sales and commercial initiatives supported volumes and partner engagement, and captured emerging growth opportunities.

In Europe, double-digit TTV growth was supported by resilient intra-regional and domestic travel demand. Southern Europe was a key driver of performance, with healthy demand from UK travellers to Mediterranean destinations.

In the Americas, trading remained strong, supported by broad-based demand across North and Latin America. Growth benefited from strong growth in the US and Canada, helped by World Cup related travel and strong relationships with distribution partners across the region.

In MEAPAC, trading was affected by the Middle East conflict. In Asia Pacific, travellers increasingly favoured intra-regional travel following disruption to certain long-haul routes earlier in the quarter, with booking trends improving as flight capacity recovered. In the Middle East, trading improved progressively during the quarter and signs of recovery emerged towards the end of the quarter during the ceasefire period.

Across regions, the Group continued to leverage its scale, global sourcing network and commercial capabilities to respond quickly to changing market conditions, supporting trading performance and partner engagement during a period of continued volatility.

Delivering commercial milestones in line with strategy

Commercial progress continued during the third quarter, with further execution against the Group’s strategic priorities across accommodation, ecosystem expansion and AI. These initiatives support long-term growth while enhancing commercial effectiveness, productivity and efficiency.

Growth in accommodation was supported by:

Strengthened strategic partnerships, including the expansion of our relationships with lastminute.com and Sabre, increasing access to demand across key European leisure markets.Continued execution of previously announced commercial agreements, supporting expansion in attractive growth markets, broadening distribution reach and reinforcing the Group’s diversified global partner network.

Ecosystem expansion is being delivered by:

Expanding the Group’s mobility offering through enhanced collaboration with Emerging Travel Group, extending an existing accommodation relationship into transfers and supporting a more connected traveller journey.New strategic partnerships across airline and OTA ecosystems, including Pelago (Singapore Airlines), Gulf Air, Tigerair Taiwan and De VakantieDiscounter, expanding distribution reach, strengthening monetisation opportunities and increasing multi-product adoption across the traveller journey.Completion of the Bridgify acquisition, adding AI-native technology capabilities and expanding the Group’s experiences offering with a broader portfolio of content.

Accelerated use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) was supported by:

Progress on MCP-enabled connectivity initiatives and commercial agreements, supporting the development of AI-powered capabilities across the Group’s travel ecosystem.Development of an AI-powered Connectivity Factory, designed to automate the end-to-end supplier integration process and accelerate onboarding times for new partners, supporting scalability and faster time-to-market.Development of specialised finance agents to automate invoice reconciliation, improve operational efficiency and accelerate payment cycles for partners.

During the quarter, HBX Group continued to execute its capital allocation strategy, returning approximately €38 million to shareholders through its maiden interim dividend of €18 million and approximately €20 million of share repurchases under its €100 million buyback programme. Year-to-date, total shareholder returns amount to approximately €50 million.

Leadership transition

HBX Group has published a separate announcement today with the news that Nicolas Huss plans to retire as CEO and step down from the Board with effect from 30 September 2026. Nicolas will remain in post until then to support an orderly handover, and the Board has appointed Brendan Brennan, current CFO, as interim CEO from 1 October 2026. Brendan brings strategic leadership experience and has a deep knowledge of the business, ensuring continuity of leadership as the Company remains focused on executing its existing strategy. The Board has initiated a comprehensive search for a permanent successor, considering both internal and external candidates, and expects to announce an appointment by the Company’s next Annual General Meeting in February 2027. 

Outlook

The Group’s performance in the third quarter was slightly better than the assumptions underpinning its previous outlook. With only two months remaining until year end, FY26 guidance has been narrowed around the midpoint. It reflects an estimated -3ppt full-year impact from the Middle East conflict, an improvement compared to the Group’s previous estimate of -4ppt. Bookings momentum is encouraging and reinforces confidence in the outlook. The Group’s medium-term expectations remain unchanged.

Company Guidance
(constant currency)

                         FY26

Mid-term[4]

TTV 

+13% to +15% (prior +11% to +15%)

Low double digit %

Revenue

-2% to flat (prior -4% to +1%)

High single digit %

Adj. EBITDA

-5% to -2% (unchanged)

EBITDA margin in 60s %

Op. FCF conversion

90% to 100% (unchanged)

c.100%

A webcast for the investment community will be held at 09:00 UK time in which we will deliver an overview of the Q3 2026 performance, followed by a Q&A session. To register for the webcast, please use the following link: HBX Group Q3 Trading Update. 

Contact details:
Investors: igreen@hbxgroup.com / M. +44 7826 910691 
Media: hbx@brunswickgroup.com 

About HBX Group

HBX Group is a leading global B2B travel technology marketplace that owns and operates Hotelbeds, Bedsonline, The Luxurist, Roiback, Civitfun and PerfectStay. We offer a network of interconnected travel technology products and services to partners including online marketplaces, tour operators, travel advisors, airlines, loyalty programmes, destinations, and travel suppliers.

Our vision is to simplify the complex and fragmented travel industry through a combination of cloud-based technology solutions, curated data, and a broad portfolio of products designed to maximise revenue. HBX Group is present in more than 170 countries and employs more than 3,500 people worldwide. We are committed to making travel a force for good, creating a positive social and environmental impact.

HBX Group International PLC (HBX.SM) is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange, (ISIN: GB00BNXJB679).

[1] Constant currency changes exclude the impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuations by translating current year results at the exchange rates used in the prior year.
Consolidated unaudited Revenue for the 3-month period from 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026 and 9-month period 1 October 2025 to 30 June 2026.
[2] Total Transaction Value.
[3] Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.
[4] Medium-term refers to the future annual periods beyond the current year on a 2-3 year view.

 

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SOURCE HBX Group

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Sophia Space and MIT Lincoln Laboratory Announce Research Collaboration on Space-Based Weather Modeling

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October 20, 2026

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CRADA and related SpaceWERX Phase I research will explore space-based computing approaches for weather-modeling applications

PASADENA, Calif., Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Sophia Space today announced a new Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with MIT Lincoln Laboratory to investigate how space-based computing approaches could support high-resolution weather-modeling research for remote operating environments.

The collaboration combines MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s weather-modeling research expertise with Sophia Space’s edge-compute concepts. The effort will explore whether distributed computing can support more timely environmental information for planning and decision-support applications.

Under the agreement, MIT Lincoln Laboratory will contribute weather-modeling research expertise, including the identification of modeling configurations, parameters, and data sources for evaluation. The team will develop representative test data and assess weather-model performace against defined research metrics using frameworks compatible with Sophia Space’s initial hardware configurations.

Sophia Space will provide the AI-inference compute environment for evaluating representative weather-model workloads, including terrestrial and potential space-based computing configurations. The organizations will explore high-level system and service architectures that may inform future research into space-based computing applications.

Sophia Space and MIT Lincoln Laboratory are also pursuing related work under Department of the Air Force STTR Topic SF25D-T1201 through the SpaceWERX Futures Series: Adaptive and Intelligent Space Challenge. The related effort examines technologies relevant to autonomous, resilient, and networked space-system operations.

“This partnership reflects our conviction that space-based computing infrastructure should be developed through rigorous collaboration between commercial innovators and world-class research institutions,” said Rob DeMillo, Co-founder and CEO of Sophia Space. “MIT Lincoln Laboratory brings unmatched weather sensing, forecasting and decision-support research expertise, and together we will explore the potential application of space-based computing to weather-modeling research.”

The collaboration aligns with Sophia Space’s research interests in edge-compute architectures, distributed processing, and sensor fusion integration for environments.

“Timely weather information is critical for operations in remote and contested environments,” said Dr. Timothy Bonin, Assistant Group Leader of the Air Traffic Control & Weather Systems Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. “This collaboration allows us to explore how space-based computing can help process satellite observations and other environmental data closer to the point of collection, while assessing potential impacts on communications demands and information-delivery timelines.”

About Sophia Space Inc.
Sophia Space is building the future of orbital computing and in-space data centers. Its modular TILE (Thermal-Integrated LEO Edge) technology enables passive computing alongside in-situ data processing, AI acceleration, and edge computing for satellites, defense systems, and commercial space stations—dramatically reducing latency and delivering actionable insights where and when they are needed. Learn more at www.sophia.space.

About MIT Lincoln Laboratory
MIT Lincoln Laboratory is a federally funded research and development (R&D) center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Since 1951, the Laboratory has developed technology that has transformed the activities of the defense, scientific, and industry communities. Its mission focuses on long-term technology development as well as rapid system prototyping and demonstration. Through several mechanisms, it facilitates partnerships with companies to advance R&D and increase U.S. technical competitiveness. Learn more at www.ll.mit.edu.

 

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SOURCE Sophia Space

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Oracle and AstraZeneca Partner to Advance AI-enabled Healthcare Innovation

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October 20, 2026

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Collaboration to connect AstraZeneca’s scientific and therapeutic expertise with Oracle’s real-world data, cloud, AI, and clinical capabilities to accelerate clinical research and bring evidence-driven insights into care workflows to help improve patient care

AUSTIN, Texas and ABU DHABI, UAE, Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Oracle today announced an agreement with AstraZeneca to explore how AI and real-world data can help clinicians identify eligible patients for clinical trials, accelerate evidence generation, and bring relevant research insights into everyday care. The collaboration is expected to combine AstraZeneca’s scientific and therapeutic expertise with Oracle’s health data, cloud, AI, analytics, and clinical workflow capabilities.

Through a non-binding agreement, the companies plan to explore selected use cases that could improve clinical-trial efficiency and success by leveraging modern applications and AI to help care teams identify eligible patients earlier and easier, resulting in greater access to clinical trials for patients in need and helping to overcome one of the largest obstacles in clinical trials – patient recruitment. Initial disease areas to be explored could include oncology; cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases; respiratory and immunology; and rare diseases.

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca said: “This unique collaboration brings leaders in healthcare and AI together at a global scale to accelerate the journey from the discovery of medicine to patient care. Combining AstraZeneca’s world class science with Oracle’s deep data and technology expertise, we can help clinicians identify patients sooner, optimize clinical trials, and generate evidence continuously across the lifecycle of a medicine.”

“Some of the most important opportunities for AI are in healthcare, where better use of data can help turn scientific innovation into better outcomes for patients,” noted Mike Sicilia, chief executive officer, Oracle. “By bringing AstraZeneca’s scientific expertise together with Oracle’s data, cloud, AI, and healthcare capabilities, we have an opportunity to help accelerate research, connect more patients to clinical trials, and ultimately bring relevant insights into care faster.”

Connecting Research and Care

Anne-Claire Gerbaldi, Chief Digital, Data and AI Officer, AstraZeneca, added: “Too many patients are diagnosed late or face a long journey to get the care they need. To build the next decade of medicine, we aim to harness AI to connect learnings across science, clinical trials, and everyday care, generating insights that continuously strengthen research, accelerate innovation, and enhance patient outcomes. Bringing together the unique capabilities of Oracle and AstraZeneca, we believe we can support smarter clinical trials, strengthen safety monitoring, and help ensure patients are diagnosed sooner and receive the right care.”

Seema Verma, executive vice president and general manager, Oracle Health and Life Sciences, said: “Healthcare progress depends on shortening the distance between scientific insight and the decisions clinicians make every day. AstraZeneca brings deep scientific and therapeutic expertise, and Oracle will deliver the secure data, cloud, AI, and clinical workflow capabilities. This collaboration has the potential to help health systems identify eligible patients sooner, broaden access to clinical trials, and generate evidence that supports the next decision, all under the governance of the health systems delivering care.”

AstraZeneca and Oracle intend to explore a continuous learning model in which insights from clinical research and routine care help inform future study design, safety monitoring, and patient care. The companies plan to establish shared governance, reusable technical components, and agreed outcome measures to assess results and determine whether successful approaches could extend across disease areas and geographies.

About Oracle
Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit www.oracle.com.

Trademarks
Oracle, Java, MySQL and NetSuite are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation. NetSuite was the first cloud company – ushering in the new era of cloud computing.

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SOURCE Oracle

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Loyyal Unveils Perxi AI Business Suite to Help SMEs Run Their Business on WhatsApp

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October 20, 2026

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Branded AI assistant brings everyday business activities into messaging channels, reducing the need for separate software and specialist teams

DUBAI, UAE, Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Loyyal today unveiled the Perxi AI Business Suite, enabling small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to manage everyday business activities through WhatsApp. Building on its introduction as a loyalty assistant, Perxi brings commerce, customer engagement and business management into one conversational interface, with capabilities including ordering, customer service and loyalty.

The suite helps SMEs and direct-to-consumer brands manage these activities without purchasing separate ordering systems, customer relationship management software or support tools. Its conversational approach reduces the need to hire specialists or train employees to operate multiple systems.

“Small business owners should be able to focus on growth without assembling a collection of software tools,” said Ashish Kumar Singh, Founder and CEO of Loyyal.

“Perxi brings everyday business capabilities into WhatsApp under each business’s own brand. We want to make these tools affordable and accessible while helping businesses retain greater control over their customer relationships, data and decisions.”

Perxi provides the underlying technology, while each business launches its assistant under its own brand name. Customers engage directly with the business they recognise, rather than entering a separate Perxi marketplace.

Customers can place orders, ask questions, receive assistance and access rewards within a familiar conversation. There is no additional branded application to install or separate login to remember. This approach is designed to appeal to younger consumers accustomed to discovering and interacting with brands through mobile messaging.

Beyond WhatsApp, Perxi can be deployed across messaging channels suited to each business and market, including Instagram, WeChat and KakaoTalk.
Multilingual capabilities enable businesses to serve customers in their preferred languages, supporting brands operating beyond English and those engaging diverse communities.

As conversational commerce and AI assistants become more prominent, SMEs face growing expectations for convenient, responsive interactions. Bringing business services into messaging channels offers a way to meet those expectations while building direct customer relationships.

Marketplaces and aggregators offer a fast route to market, but access to customer information and engagement opportunities varies. Perxi helps businesses establish a direct channel and gain insights from their own customer conversations and transactions.

These insights can inform service improvements, personalised engagement and retention, while reducing dependence on intermediaries for customer access.

Pricing is designed to remain simple and affordable. Loyyal plans further services under the same umbrella.

Perxi will return to exhibit at Dubai AI Festival on October 26–27, 2026, at Dubai World Trade Centre.

About Loyyal

Loyyal is a US-born, UAE-based enterprise technology company helping businesses turn loyalty and customer engagement into growth and revenue. Combining patented blockchain technology with AI, its modular portfolio spans loyalty management, rewards, points exchange, offers, gift cards, gamification and conversational business assistants.

Media Contact

Marketingdepartment@loyyal.com

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