Millennium and Copthorne's revPAR surges
International hotels group Millennium and Copthorne saw the key metric of revenue per available room (RevPAR) rise strongly in the first quarter, as travellers flocked to London and Singapore.
International hotels group Millennium and Copthorne saw the key metric of revenue per available room (RevPAR) rise strongly in the first quarter, as travellers flocked to London and Singapore.
RevPAR rose to £59.17 in the first quarter from £55.28 in the corresponding period of 2011, a 7.0% increase in actual terms and a rise of 6.0% once exchange rate fluctuations are stripped out.
On a like-for-like basis group RevPAR grew by 5.6% (excluding the three Christchurch hotels, Copthorne Orchid and Stuttgart). The increase was largely a result of higher room rates rather than more heads on pillows.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748-320-80.jpg)
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
RevPAR in what Millennium & Copthorne (M&C) calls its key gateway cities increased, with like-for-like Singapore RevPAR up by 7.7%, London up by 7.0% and New York up by 0.6%.
"Looking forward, we expect continuing healthy progress in London, Singapore and certain other Asian destinations and we are focusing on improving performance at our US properties," said Kwek Leng Beng, Chairman of M&C.
Total revenue rose 0.7% to £175.5m from £174.2m the year before, representing a 0.3% decline on a constant exchange rates (CER) basis. The bulk of that revenue came from the hotels business, where revenue rose 0.2% (-0.8% on a CER basis) to £172.4m from £172.0m in the first quarter of 2011.
Like-for-like total revenue in constant currency increased by 5.4% to £173.5m (2011: £164.6m).
Headline profit before tax surged 28.3% (CER: +25.1%) to £25.4m from £19.8m the year before, while basic earnings per share climbed 26.7% to 5.7p from 4.5p last year.
Net debt reduced from £100.2m at the end of 2011 £31.1m and gearing tumbled to 1.5% from the end-2011 level of 4.8%.
"With a strong balance sheet and gearing approaching zero, we are in a good position, both to continue investing in our property portfolio to improve returns and to grow the portfolio when we identify attractive strategic investment opportunities. We have been actively seeking such opportunities since the second half of last year, but vendors' price expectations in key gateway cities are still too high," Kwek Leng Beng said.
JH
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
-
Regulator moves to protect access to cash amid branch closures and disappearing ATMs
News The Financial Conduct Authority has told banks to start assessing if local communities have adequate cash access from mid-September
By Marc Shoffman Published
-
VAT hike on private school fees could come earlier than previously expected
The government could start charging VAT on private school fees as soon as January 2025, according to the latest reports. What does it mean for parents?
By Katie Williams Published