International Hotel Investments plc - Full-Year Results

On 22 February 2010, the Board of Directors of Island Hotels Group Holdings plc issued the preliminary profit statement for the year ended 31 October 2009 and recommended a final net dividend of €0.012 per share for approval at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting on 19 May 2010. Those shareholders as at close of trading on Wednesday 14 April 2010 will be entitled to this dividend.

For comparative reasons, the Group published the proforma results for the full-year to 31 October 2009 since the holding company was only registered at the end of July 2009. During the year, the Island Hotels Group registered a 14% drop in turnover to €32.3 million. This resulted in a gross operating profit of €8.8 million when compared to the €10.9 million registered during the year to 31 October 2008. The Group’s profit before tax during 2009 declined by 33% to €3.3 million (2008: €4.8 million). Island Hotels explained that the year under review was very challenging for the local tourism industry which resulted in a lower number of visitors to Malta as well as a drop in the average room rates. Despite this decline in tourism, the Group stated that it registered a comparatively positive set of results mainly due to the mix of business models used by the Group’s portfolio of hotels.

With regards to the outlook for the current financial year to 31 October 2010, the Island Hotels Group stated that the challenging conditions experienced during 2009 continued in the first few months of their new financial year. However indications for the second six months of the year are more positive with both volumes and room rates beginning to show signs of a modest recovery. The Group also mentioned the negative impact of the recent hike in utility tariffs. Meanwhile, the Directors retained a positive outlook at the long-term prospects of the Group following the recent joint venture acquisition of the 83,000 sqm site besides the Golden Sands Hotel. During the current financial year, the Group’s management aims to work on finalising the plans for the new site.

A copy of the Full-Year results is available here.