Millennium & Copthorne Q2 pre-tax profit almost doubles

2nd Aug 2011 09:11

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels' second quarter pre-tax profits nearly doubled as the hotel operator saw strong growth in revenue per available room in gateway cities like London, Singapore and New York. For the second quarter, the company's pre-tax profits rose 91.8%, including a gain of £17.4m from the sale and leaseback of Studio M, compared with a pre-tax profit of £31.6m, last year. Overall revenue per available room (revPar), a measure of profitability in the hotel industry, increased by 6.3%, in constant currency terms, primarily driven by an increase in average room rate, the company said.However, the company was disappointed over the performance in the first half of the year but calmed investor by saying trading was in line with expectations. For the half year ended 30 June, performance was impeded by temporary impact of asset management activity, including three hotel closures in New Zealand, declining revenues from Copthorne Orchid in run up to closure in April and temporary room closures in its hotels in Seoul. On a like-for-like basis group revPAR increased by 7.5% (excluding the 3 Christchurch hotels, Copthorne Orchid, Orchard Hotel, Millennium Seoul Hilton and Studio M; and including Grand Millennium Beijing) and Singapore by 12.3% (excluding Copthorne Orchid, Studio M and Orchard Hotel), it said.Bucking the trend, shares of the company jumped 0.6% to 519p in the morning trading session in London. Its peers InterContinental Hotels and C.H. Bailey lost more than 1%. AR