Australia's WEB Travel rise as HY earnings beat consensus estimate

Shares of WEB Travel Group WEB.AX advances as much as 13.8% to A$4.55, to hit their highest since August 25

Stock among top gainers on benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO

WEB's first-half underlying EBITDA beats Visible Alpha (VA) consensus estimate by ~5% at A$81.7 mln ($52.80 mln), lifted by a stronger rev margin, as per Citi

Brokerage says FY26 EBITDA outlook's midpoint is largely in line with VA consensus estimates

Americas segment growth outstripped Europe, which Citi flags as an early payoff from heavier bets on direct contracting

Sees the result landing well, given margin improvement and robust total transaction value growth despite a choppy macro backdrop

Stock has shed 3.7% YTD, including the day's moves

($1 = 1.5473 Australian dollars)