Europe's biggest online travel agency, Ebookers, has unveiled narrower losses and delivered an upbeat forecast for the rest of the year.

The company said on Thursday that pre-tax losses for the first three months of 2002 fell to �3.5m, 60% down on the same period last year.

Total sales grew by 43% compared with the same period one year earlier to �61m.

Ebookers added that technology upgrades aimed at speeding up online booking of non-air travel services should deliver "significant" sales growth in the second half of the year.

On track for recovery

Ebookers managing director Sanjiv Talwar said the company's performance showed that it had "turned the corner" following a sharp slowdown after the 11 September attacks last year.

City investors welcomed the news, marking Ebookers shares 5.5p higher to 156.5p in mid-morning trade.

The figures tally with recent evidence of a recovery in the global travel industry, with many airlines reporting a steady increase in bookings.

Ebookers' US sector mates Expedia and Travelocity have also announced a pick-up in demand in recent months.

And last week, rival online travel group Lastminute.com said its key UK and French websites made an operating profit for the first time during the first three months of the year.

Expansion

Ebookers, which has snapped up 11 smaller rivals over the last two years, said it remains on the lookout for potential acquisitions.

The company's chief executive Dinesh Dhamija said Ebookers was "considering the acquisition potential of further substantial companies in Europe."

Ebookers runs 11 websites in nine European languages offering cheap air tickets, hotel rooms and car rentals.

The company, formerly known as Ebookers.com, dropped the dot.com suffix last year in an attempt at distancing itself from the internet meltdown.