Freightos narrows losses as online bookings improve

Online booking and rate firm Freightos saw revenues and profits improve in the first quarter of the year on the back of a record number of online bookings.

Freightos, which owns air cargo booking cargo WebCargo, recorded an 11% year-on-year improvement in first-quarter revenues to $5.3m, its operating loss for the period narrowed to $5.5m from $58m last year and net loss improved to $4.6m against $49.3m a year earlier.

The increase in revenues comes as the number of transactions completed on its portals increased 29% year on year to 295,600 and the gross booking value improved by 14% due to rising freight rates as a result of the Red Sea crisis and subsequent modal shift to air.

Meanwhile, profits improved as last year the company incurred a one-time non-cash share listing charge of $46.7m due to the business combination with Gesher I Acquisition Corp.

Zvi Schreiber, chief executive of Freightos, said: “We are pleased with the strong first quarter of the year, which highlights the robustness and growing acceptance of our platform, and the strides we are making in digitalizing international freight, bringing efficiency and transparency to this crucial sector.

“We pursued several initiatives to increase not only the number but also the value of the transactions, including investing in Asia and an emphasis on high-value shipments such as pharma.

“Looking ahead, we remain focused on the opportunities in the massive air and ocean freight markets, driving continued growth and innovation in the quarters to come.”

Freightos chief financial officer Ran Shalev added: “The first quarter results exceeded our expectations in every metric: the number of transactions, Gross Booking Value, revenue, and profitability.

“We remain on track to achieve our 2024 guidance, as well as our long-term goals for growth, profitability, and cash generation.”

Freightos said the number of carriers selling on the platform, primarily on WebCargo, increased to 49 for the first quarter of 2024.

Among the recent carrier additions are Virgin Atlantic Cargo and Delta Cargo.

United Cargo joins third-party booking portals with WebCargo partnership