Dalata Hotel Group PLC (LON:DAL) has reported a strong year of revenue and profit growth, and told investors that current trading is slightly ahead of expectations.
Revenue increased by 19.9% to €348.5mln, up from €290.6mln in the previous year, while pre-tax profit jumped 75.3% to €77.3mln. Earnings per share, meanwhile, increased by 94.8% to 37.2 euro cents.
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The Irish hotel operator - which owns the Maldron and Clayton hotel brands - improved occupancy rates to 83.1%, up 100 basis points from the preceding year, and the average room rate also increased to €106.48 from €97.60. The measure of revenue per available room (typically referred to as RevPAR) rose to €88.51, up from €80.20.
"2017 was another exciting time for Dalata and I am delighted with the progress we have made,” said Pat McCann, Dalata chief executive.
McCann added: “We invested in technology to support our processes and ensure we are able to deliver our long-term growth strategy.”
Expanding on both sides of Irish Sea
Dalata continued to expand its operation, with its current pipeline containing 2,200 new rooms.
It has four new hotels opening this year (two in Dublin, one in Belfast and Cork), delivering a total of 727 new rooms and creating 500 new jobs on the island of Ireland. Additionally, hotels in Dublin and Galway are being extended to add 253 rooms later this year.
Construction is expected to start on the renovation of the Tara Towers project, which will comprise 140 new rooms and 69 residential units.
Next year, it is planning to open a 264-room Maldron hotel in Newcastle. The company also has agreements to lease new hotel developments in Glasgow and Manchester, for a total of 850 rooms.
During 2017, the company acquired the 174-room Hotel La Tour Birmingham for €34.2mln in July, and executed a sale and leaseback deal for the site.
On the outskirts of Dublin, the company acquired business and 257 rooms at Clayton Hotel Liffey Valley for €33.6mln.