Serko co-founder and CEO Darrin Grafton told the Herald the lingering pandemic, coupled with the new geopolitical factor of the Ukraine crisis, meant there was too much uncertainty to offer a profit/loss forecast.
The chief executive said while saw renewed interest in business travel, and increasing volumes, there were still limiting factors, including hotels limited to 70 per cent capacity because of Covid labour shortages, and airlines that were still in the process of rebuilding their schedules.
"It's going to take 18 months to flow through," he said.
Shares in the maker of travel booking and expense management software were down 1.28 per cent to $4.64 in midday trading. The stock is down 30.24 per cent for the year.
Serko's revenue increased 12 per cent to $18.9m in the 12 months to March 31 as borders began to reopen.
In FY2019 - its final full financial year before Covid closed borders - Serko booked revenue of $23.4m, and sneaked into the black with a $1.6m net profit.
The firm forecast revenue will double in FY2023.
Cash burn for FY2022 was $3m per month - at the mid-point of guidance - and Serko finished the financial year with cash reserves that increased by just over half to $124.5m, thanks to an $85m capital raise that closed in November, before the so-called "Tech Wreck 2.0" swept through markets.
Buoyed by its capital raise, and the security of its business with its anchor investor Booking.com, Serko added 25 staff over the year for a total of 360 as it continued to use the industry dip as a chance to invest in new products and grab market share while rivals were laid low.
Grafton told the Herald his firm plans to keep hiring, but its next round of recruitment will be for a new software development hub located offshore.
The location is still being decided, but the CEO said it would be in a "lower-cost" country.
The CEO said the decision to locate the hub overseas was driven by three factors: the tech skills shortage in NZ, an eye on costs, and the need to fill out Serko's development team to a 24/7 operation. The firm currently has 220 staff in Auckland, with the balance in satellite offices in the US and China.
Grafton said the first two months of the new financial year had seen revenue running at 114 per cent of 2019 levels (that is, the last year before the Covid storm), while Australia and New Zealand combined were running at 83 per cent of pre-Covid levels.
He was not concerned that many business class seats were being snapped up by high-end leisure travellers as border restrictions eased.
"Quite often, someone will travel for leisure then say, 'I have to plan a bit more, but things aren't so bad'. They build a new resilience and feel more comfortable about booking business travel."
Jarden's Hooper said while Serko's cash hoard was large, it also reflected an investment in development that was lower than he had expected.
The analyst said it was encouraging that Serko's April bookings were running around 20 per cent ahead of March - as was a new partnership that will see US-based travel management giant CWT use Serko's cloud-based Zeno as its preferred online booking tool.
