The adventure specialist revealed a pre-tax profit of £17.8 million on Wednesday (20 March), a turnaround from a loss of £9 million in 2022 – its biggest result in 34 years of trading.
Departed revenue more than doubled (+113%) to £276 million, with bookings up by 68% to £320 million. Passenger numbers worldwide reached 328,000.
The result saw the operator declare its first dividend since 2019, with the number of staff shareholders rising from 52 to 421. In addition, bonuses were paid to eligible staff.
“Last year was a phenomenal year of growth and our team demonstrated innovation and determination. This has set the foundation for Intrepid to embark on its journey towards its ambitious future targets,” said chief executive James Thornton.
The operator added it had reached “all six of our ambitious company goals”, including record revenue growth, customer and people engagement and donations.
“However, at Intrepid we always say that profit is the output of what we do – it’s not the reason why we’re in business,” said the business.
The year also saw the Melbourne-headquartered company expand into the accommodation sector with the purchase of a 15-room eco-lodge in Queensland.
Intrepid faced sustainability issues, having increased its carbon emissions per passenger “primarily driven by its recent acquisitions and changes in trip emissions modelling”.
However, it has developed a decarbonisation roadmap to meet 2035 science-based targets and has commissioned PwC to provide independent assurance of its environmental performance.
Thornton said Intrepid planned to carry 600,000 customers, achieve revenue and earnings of over £667 million, and contribute 1% of revenue to charitable causes by 2030. “That’s our aspiration and that’s how we believe we can create positive change for our staff, travellers and the communities we visit,” he said.
In 2024, Intrepid is targeting underlying pre-tax profits of £21.2 million and £381 million in bookings.
Intrepid said its 2023 best seller was a 10-day Vietnam Express Southbound tour tracing the country’s east coast. Its longest tour was the 64-day Cape Town to Nairobi Africa Encompassed itinerary. In terms of destinations, Vietnam topped Intrepid’s best-seller list last year, followed by Morocco and Egypt.
During 2023, Intrepid dealt with 1,639 incidents involving clients, with an increase in the number of climate-related incidents from 48 to 169.
It donated almost £91,000 to climate action charities, while £1.4 million was raised for 50 communities via the Intrepid Foundation. Intrepid hopes 10% of its clients will donate to the programme this year.
However, the year also saw Intrepid rapped by the UK Advertising Standards Authority over a claim its trips were “planet-friendly” despite clients needing to fly. It has since dropped the phrase from its marketing.
