10th Apr 2019 11:56
LONDON (Alliance News) - Safestay PLC on Wednesday expressed a confident outlook for the year ahead after reporting a narrowed loss in 2018, helped by expansion outside of the UK.
The hostel operator slimmed its loss in 2018 to GBP604,000 from GBP862,000 reported the year prior, as revenue rose by 39% to GBP14.6 million from GBP10.6 million.
Safestay highlighted that GBP6.2 million came from non-UK properties, representing 43% of total revenue, up from 19% in 2017, reflecting the expansion of the company and the ability to diversify into new markets.
2018 was the first full year of trading for five European properties purchased in 2017, Safestay noted, in Spain, Portugal and the Czech Republic. The company said that these hostels all achieved occupancy levels in excess of 70% in 2018.
In total, the mainland European business generated GBP6.2 million in revenue in 2018, GBP4.2 million more than in 2017.
Safestay said the new sites in Brussels and Vienna added in 2018 are currently operating as hotels, but will be converted to hostels in 2019.
Meanwhile, food & beverage sales in 2018 were GBP1.7 million, up from GBP1.4 million in 2017. In the UK, this segment grew by 7% in a challenging environment, Safestay highlighted.
"2018 was a positive year for the business and I am confident that 2019 will deliver continued growth," said Chair Larry Lipman.
Safestay shares were trading 2.6% higher on Wednesday at 35.90 pence each.
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