16th Dec 2015 07:59
LONDON (Alliance News) - Elegant Hotels PLC Wednesday said its pretax profit fell in the last financial year, mainly because of the costs associated with its initial public offering earlier in 2015, as the company announced a 3.5 pence dividend for the full year.
The company, which operates five hotels and a beach-front restaurant on the island of Barbados, said revenue in the financial year ended September 30 rose over 4% to USD60.1 million from USD57.6 million a year earlier, as it improved its average revenue per room, pushed up its daily rates and benefited from growth in tourist levels during the year.
"This has been a landmark year for Elegant Hotels. We achieved strong revenue and underlying profit growth, and demand for Barbados as a tourist destination remains buoyant, with arrivals and flight capacity both continuing to improve," said Chief Executive Sunil Chatrani.
However, its pretax profit fell to USD5.9 million from USD11.4 million a year earlier due to USD10.2 million worth of costs related to its initial public offering and one-off costs, with other costs remaining broadly flat year-on-year.
Elegant will pay a final dividend of 1.75 pence, pushing the dividend for the full year to 3.5 pence, with the company stressing that dividend has come after only five months of trading on AIM.
"The group's admission to AIM in May has provided us with a great foundation from which to grow and expand, both organically and through acquisitions in Barbados and the wider Caribbean. 2016 promises to be a year of further significant development, and we are excited about the future prospects for the business," said Chatrani.
The hotel operator also slashed debt by almost two-thirds year-on-year, reducing net debt to USD40.8 million from USD105.8 million at the end of the last financial year.
Moving forward, Elegant is planning to keep its eyes open for any acquisition opportunities that would allow it to expand in Barbados or in the wider Caribbean market.
"As we approach the busiest period of the year over the key winter months of December to February, we have good visibility, as always, into the strength of bookings. These are in line with management's expectations at this stage of the year. We continue to pursue a strategy focussed on rate growth and on enhancing the Elegant Hotels' experience for our customers," said Elegant.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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