Chinese online travel firm Ctrip.com International Ltd. says its profit was up 23% year-on-year as the company today announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2009.

Ctrip reported total revenues of CNY429 million, representing a 17% increase from the same period in 2008 and a 1% increase from the previous quarter. The company's net revenues were CNY401 million for the first quarter of 2009, up 18% year-on-year, and net income was CNY121 million, up 23% year-on-year.

Hotel reservation revenues amounted to CNY187 million for the first quarter of 2009, representing a 9% increase from the same period in 2008 primarily driven by a 17% increase in hotel room reservation volume, which was partially offset by a decrease in commission per room. Hotel reservation revenues represented an 11% decrease from the previous quarter primarily due to decreased hotel booking volume during the Chinese New Year holidays. Air-ticketing revenues for the first quarter of 2009 were CNY184 million, representing a 16% increase from the same period in 2008 primarily driven by a 40% increase in air-ticketing sales volume, which was partially offset by a decrease in commission per ticket. Air-ticketing revenue increased 11% from the previous quarter primarily due to increased air-ticketing volume.

As of March 31, 2009, the balance of cash and short-term investment for Ctrip was CNY1.4 billion. For the second quarter of 2009, Ctrip stated in its press release that it expects to continue the year-on-year net revenue growth of approximately 10-15% in China.