London-listed Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C), a wholly-owned hotel unit of City Developments Ltd (CDL), has recorded a net profit of £14.1 million (S$28.5 million) in the first quarter, up 15.6 percent from last year’s £12.2 million (S$24.6 million).
Q1 revenue climbed 8.5 percent to £174.2 million, while profit before tax increased 5.9 percent to £19.7 million.
The company’s revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose 6.8 percent year-on-year, attributed to advances in M&C’s key gateway cities of New York, Singapore and London.
M&C’s profitability was impacted by asset management initiatives like the refurbishment works for the 277 rooms at Millennium Seoul Hilton and a decline in revenue from the Copthorne Orchid in Singapore, ahead of the site’s redevelopment into Glyndebourne condo.
First quarter earnings were also impacted by the continuing closure of three hotels in New Zealand, due to the earthquake in February and the consolidation of the Grand Millennium Beijing after the company’s acquisition of additional equity in the hotel.
“Improvement in the global hospitality market will be less marked in 2011 than last year, with economic recovery remaining mixed away from the big global gateway cities, particularly in Europe and the United States,” said Kwek Leng Beng, Chairman of M&C.
“The earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan are also impacting revenues in Australasia and parts of Asia. The group’s very strong financial position gives it the means to meet these short-term challenges and continue to focus on long-term strategic goals, whilst remaining committed to strict cost control.”
Meanwhile, revenue and development costs for The Glyndebourne will be reflected in the company’s income statement upon the project’s completion, expected to be in 2015. It said that 143 of the 150 units at the project have been sold at a total sales value of around S$517.4 million, which translates to around S$2,000 psf.
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