International Hotel Investments plc - Full-Year Results

On 30 April 2024, International Hotel Investments plc published its Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Performance Overview

Revenue amounted to a record €287.8 million which represents an uplift of 20.8% from the €238.2 million registered in 2022 reflecting the higher demand for the Group’s hotels, despite traffic to hotels in Russia and Libya remaining subdued.

On the expenditure side, operating costs grew by 18.7% to €256.3 million (2022: €216.0 million) mainly driven by higher payroll expenses which increased by 24.7% to €106.9 million (€85.7 million) as well as a 30.1% rise in marketing expenses to €48.1 million. Excluding a €27.6 million depreciation charge, EBITDA increased by 16.7% to €60.3 million resulting in an EBITDA margin of 21.0% (2022: 21.7%). Notably, the EBITDA also includes preopening hotel costs of €1.9 million.

The financial performance of IHI was positively impacted by a fair value movement on investment property of €6.42 million (2022: €6.62 million loss) and an impairment gain of €0.28 million. On the other hand, there was €2.93 million in other non-cash expenses relating to investment property and operational exchange losses. Consequently, operating profit (‘EBIT’) grew to €36.5 million compared to €14.3 million in the previous year and the operating profit margin was 12.7% (2022: 6.0%).

Elsewhere, net finance costs excluding exchange rate differences rose by 35.2% to €37.5 million (2022: €27.7 million). IHI had an additional charge of €1.3 million relating to its exchange difference on borrowings compared to a €15.4 million gain in the previous year.  As a result, the net finance costs rose to €38.8 million from €12.6 million in the previous financial year.

Overall, IHI reported a pre-tax loss of €4.12 million compared to the pre-tax loss of €1.09 million recorded in 2022. After accounting for a tax expense of €7.18 million and a loss of €0.96 million pertaining to minority interests, the net loss for the year attributable to shareholders amounted to €10.4 million compared to the loss of €5.44 million posted in 2022.

The Statement of Financial Position as at 31 December 2023 shows that total assets grew by 6.4% (or €106 million) to €1.77 billion largely reflecting an increase in property, plant and equipment to €1.34 billion (31 December 2022: €1.25 billion) and a higher level of cash balances amounting to €87.1 million (31 December 2022: €66.2 million). Similarly, total liabilities increased by 10.4% (or €87.8 million) to €932.0 million mainly due to the total debt growing to €720 million from €657 million in the previous year. Shareholders’ funds grew by 1.1% to €613.3 million which translates into a net asset value per share of €0.9961 (31 December 2022: €0.9857).

Outlook

In his statement to shareholders, the Chairman stated that IHI intends to open three new Corinthia hotels during the current financial year in New York (100 rooms and 14 residences), Bucharest (35 suites) and Brussels (126 rooms). Furthermore, hotels in Rome (by 2025), Doha (by 2025), Riyadh (by 2027) and the Maldives (by 2027) are also in the pipeline.

The Company intends to provide management services to third-party hotel owners so that the Corinthia brand can be distributed to many destinations without the need to invest in new properties. In this respect, the Company aims to manage one hundred hotels on behalf of third-party owners by 2030.

Going forward, IHI aims to increase earnings, particularly from its three subsidiary service companies specialising in hotel management, real estate development and design & engineering. The Company anticipates that the increased EBITDA generated from its subsidiaries along with an extra €50 million which will be generated from the sale of one or more non-core assets will be used to reduce its bank loans.

Furthermore, Mr Pisani expects that the St Petersburg and Tripoli hotels facing subdued performance will make a fair contribution to the Group’s financial results once geopolitical uncertainties in the respective countries wane.