NORWALK, Conn., March 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Booking
Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG) announced today that it is withdrawing
its previously announced first quarter 2020 financial guidance as a
result of the worsening impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on travel
demand.
Glenn D. Fogel, President and
Chief Executive Officer of Booking Holdings, said, "As we explained
when we provided first quarter 2020 guidance during our fourth
quarter earnings announcement on February
26, 2020, the circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak are
changing rapidly and our guidance was based on the information we
had at the time. As the situation has worsened and the
negative impact on travel demand has increased since we provided
guidance, in particular more broadly across Europe and in North
America, we have decided to withdraw that guidance.
Given the rapidly evolving situation, we are unable at this time to
reliably quantify the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on our future
financial results. We plan to provide more information during
our first quarter earnings call based on the information we have
available at that time."
Mr. Fogel continued, "While the full impact and duration of the
COVID-19 outbreak is unknown at this time, we have been through
travel disruptions in the past and expect that this disruption will
ultimately be temporary. We believe the company has a strong
operating model and solid balance sheet, which will enable us to
weather this disruption. We remain confident in our long-term
prospects and strategy, and we will continue to manage the company
in a measured way to build value for the long term. In the
meantime, we will continue to monitor the situation and support our
customers, partners and employees during this difficult time.
Our thoughts remain with the people impacted by this outbreak."
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements reflect our views regarding
current expectations and projections about future events and
conditions and are based on currently available information.
These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions
that are difficult to predict, including the Risk Factors
identified in our most recently filed annual report on Form 10-K;
therefore, our actual results could differ materially from those
expressed, implied or forecast in any such forward-looking
statements. Expressions of future goals and expectations and
similar expressions, including "may," "will," "should," "could,"
"aims," "seeks," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "intends,"
"believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "targets," and
"continue," reflecting something other than historical fact are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Unless
required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. However, readers should carefully
review the reports and documents we file or furnish from time to
time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly our
annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q
and current reports on Form 8-K.
About Booking Holdings
Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) is the world leader in
online travel and related services, provided to customers and
partners in over 230 countries and territories through six primary
consumer-facing brands -
Booking.com, KAYAK, priceline.com, agoda.com, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable. The
mission of Booking Holdings is to make it easier for
everyone to experience the world. For more information,
visit Bookingholdings.com.
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SOURCE Booking Holdings Inc.