CWT Sees Stable 2012 Performance in a Challenging Environment

Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) announced steady performance for its business travel activities in 2012, and significant growth in specialised areas, including CWT Meetings & Events and CWT Energy Services. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) March 21, 2013 - Overall sales volume fell by 1.1% to USD $27.7 billion1 from USD $28.0 billion in 2011, and the number of transactions managed by CWT also fell slightly by 0.2% to 61.7 million2 compared to 61.9 million in 2011. New business sales in 2012 reached USD $1.7 billion.

CWT grew most in Latin America, where transactions increased by 21% year over year, enhanced by the additional business from the acquisitions of Net Tours and Centenial Group in 2011, and by operations in Chile and Mexico, which performed particularly well. Transactions in North America, a significant market for CWT, increased by 2.3%, mirroring a more favourable economic environment.

Transactions in Asia Pacific decreased by 2.4% year over year, despite strong performance in China and Japan, and dropped by 4.4% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, reflecting the economic climate throughout the region in 2012.

Douglas Anderson, CWT president and chief executive officer commented, "We are very pleased with our performance over the last year. As a global company with local operations all over the world, our diverse client portfolio has provided stability despite a fluctuating economic climate."

Strong performance of CWT's specialised business areas
CWT has seen strong growth in 2012 in its range of specialised services.

CWT Energy Services, a division entirely dedicated to facilitating travel for clients operating in oil and gas services and maritime and drilling exploration, grew by 22% and managed more than 2.3 million transactions3 for customers. CWT won business from several new global accounts in this sector, in addition to expanding business with existing clients.

Energy companies are increasing their travel globally, particularly in areas such as Latin America and Asia Pacific, as they search for more energy sources and develop new facilities around the world. CWT specialises in managing travel for the complex requirements of the energy, resource and maritime sector and is focusing on further strengthening and expanding its offer in 2013.

CWT Solutions Group, the company‟s consulting arm, grew by 17% and continued to introduce innovative ways to help companies get the best value from their travel programmes and identify savings opportunities in even the most mature travel programmes.

CWT Meetings & Events organised 35,000 meetings and events around the world for one million delegates, and grew by 10% globally in 2012. This growth reflects companies‟ needs to keep a close eye on cost control and introduce strategically managed meetings policies and programmes that drive both results and savings.

Other notable progress in 2012 included the acquisition of WorldMate, a leader in mobile travel technology, putting CWT in full control of its own „mobile destiny;‟ and CWT‟s ongoing commitment to responsible business, as it became a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact, related to human rights, the environment and anti-corruption.

CWT UK business highlights
In the UK, CWT also saw stable results with overall sales volume of £1.175bn in 2012, which was a 1.9% decrease from the previous year.

As echoed in the global results, the specialised area of CWT Meetings & Events contributed to the UK results. Overall sales volume increased by 21% year on year. These results represent a continuing trend of growth, after the company reported a 52% increase in sales volume in 2011.

"2012 was a tough year with exceptional results for CWT UK," Patrick Andersen, executive vice president UK & Ireland, Nordic and Eastern Europe, Carlson Wagonlit Travel. "Our vision for growth through innovation and our people will continue to help our clients deliver results for their travel and meetings & events programmes in 2013 and beyond."

Looking forward to an innovative 2013
"2013 will be another exciting year for CWT," said Anderson. "As part of our commitment to delivering the perfect trip to our clients and their travellers, we are investing further in our mobile services as well as driving change and value in managed travel through innovative tools and services."

Expanding mobile and online services
Working with WorldMate teams, CWT continues to reinforce its mobile offering to provide a more personalised and relevant approach to travellers. In 2013, CWT To Go powered by WorldMate will include additional tools such as an iPad version. In addition to the automatic synchronisation of CWT trips, travellers will also be able to forward to the app any trips booked through other channels, thus allowing all travel itineraries to be stored and managed within one place. Mobile booking, traveller profile updates and the ability to make booking changes through the app will also be integrated this year. Travellers will also see new tools and improvements to CWT Portal - the CWT gateway to all online travel services - with 24/7 access to a range of traveller tools and booking services.

Ensuring traveller wellbeing
Ensuring employees stay safe when they travel on business, especially to high-risk destinations, remains a major priority for CWT. 2013 will see CWT further reinforce its travel safety and security services to keep travellers in the know while they are on the move and help them if their travel plans get disrupted. Furthermore, CWT is tackling the wider picture of employee wellbeing; following on from its research into traveller stress, productivity levels and the consequent impact on cost, CWT will pilot its Travel Stress Index with clients during the first half of 2013.

About Carlson Wagonlit Travel
CWT is a global leader specialising in managing business travel and meetings and events. CWT serves companies, government institutions and non-governmental organisations of all sizes in more than 150 countries and territories. By leveraging both the expertise of its people and leading-edge technology, CWT helps clients derive the greatest value from their travel programme in terms of savings, service, security and sustainability. The company is also committed to providing best-in-class service and assistance to travellers. CWT services and solutions comprise Traveller & Transaction Services, Programme Optimisation, Safety & Security, Meetings & Events and Energy Services. In 2012, sales volume for wholly owned operations and joint ventures totalled US$27.7 billion. As part of its commitment to responsible business, CWT is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact Ten Principles. For more information about CWT, please visit our global website at www.carlsonwagonlit.com. Follow us on Twitter ( @ ) CarlsonWagonlit

Contacts
CWT Global
Natasha Harvey
+ 33 1 41 33 62 34 (office) + 33 6 74 94 23 81 (mobile)
nharvey ( @ ) carlsonwagonlit dot com

CWT UK & Ireland
Christine Fischer
+ 44 (0)20 3353 1113 (office)
+ 44 (0)7920 863 180 (mobile)
cfischer ( @ ) carlsonwagonlit dot co.uk

1 Actual sales volume at current exchange rates; includes air, hotel and ground transportation for wholly-owned operations and joint ventures
2 Includes air, hotel and ground transportation for wholly-owned operations and joint ventures
3 Includes air, hotel and ground transportation for wholly-owned operations

http://www.carlsonwagonlit.co.uk/en/countries/uk/

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