Warning: Corporate Travel shares have crashed 80%. What on earth just happened?

Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) shares have finally returned to the ASX, and investors have not held back.

The Corporate Travel share price is down 80.40% to $3.15 in early Thursday trade after the company’s long suspension was lifted.

The stock last traded at $16.07 before it was suspended in August 2025, and a lot has gone wrong since then.

Investors are now showing exactly what they think of it.

Shares have traded as low as $2.81 this morning.

Why were Corporate Travel shares suspended?

The problems started in the company’s UK business, where some serious accounting issues were uncovered.

A KPMG review found revenue had been recognised incorrectly on large customer contracts completed between 2021 and 2023. That included around GBP 45.4 million sitting in a “Concluded Customer Contracts” account that should not have been recognised as revenue.

Corporate Travel later said it could restate as much as GBP 58.2 million across FY23 and FY24, with another GBP 19.4 million of adjustments flagged for FY25.

Since then, the company has spent much of the past year sorting through the mess, including refunding customers, restating its accounts and making changes to its financial controls.

There’s been some progress, with Corporate Travel saying this week that around 78% of customer refunds have either been agreed or are close to being finalised.

What did the FY26 result show?

Despite everything that has happened, there were some signs the underlying business moved in the right direction during FY26.

Revenue and other income rose 4% to $669.9 million, while underlying EBITDA jumped 36% to $113.6 million.

Corporate Travel also returned to profit, posting net profit after tax (NPAT) of $17.7 million. Keep in mind, that’s a big turnaround from the $348.5 million loss recorded a year earlier.

Activity also picked up, with transaction volumes rising 13% to 18.3 million and total transaction value (TTV) increasing 2% to $9.8 billion.

Europe was one of the better-performing regions. Revenue climbed 34% to $113.7 million, while underlying EBITDA improved to $24.7 million from a $1.2 million loss.

But the balance sheet is still one area investors are watching closely.

Corporate Travel ended FY26 with $106.9 million in cash and has since secured a $175 million funding package to help finish the remediation work and support the business.

What happens next?

Management said trading in the first month of FY27 was broadly in line with expectations, although the early numbers were mixed.

July transaction volumes rose to around 1.6 million from 1.5 million a year earlier, while revenue slipped to $53.3 million from $58.3 million.

Corporate Travel has also secured $178 million of new business on a TTV basis so far in FY27.

And there was also some good news from the Australian Government review, which found no signs of widespread or systemic overcharging.

Still, the company has a lot of work ahead of it after what has been a shocking period for shareholders.

The post Warning: Corporate Travel shares have crashed 80%. What on earth just happened? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Corporate Travel Management shares resume trading after FY26 report
• Corporate Travel Management swings to profit as earnings jump in FY26
• Corporate Travel Management reports FY25 and 1HY26 earnings
• Corporate Travel Management secures new funding and updates on FY25 and FY26 earnings
• Corporate Travel Management updates UK remediation progress and settlement terms

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Corporate Travel Management. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Corporate Travel Management. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.