The enormous jump in pre-tax profits from PPHE, formerly Plaza Hotels, owes everything to accounting profits triggered when the group took control of several joint ventures. Strip out these gains and underlying profits rose by 29 per cent to €5.3m (£4.15m) against the background of a weak European hotels market.
The UK contributes the bulk of PPHE's business, with the London hotel market important to the performance as it offset a weak provincial market. Driven by London, UK sales were 4 per cent higher in sterling terms at £60.6m. That comprised a 6.4 per cent rise in average room rate to £132, balanced against a small fall in occupancy levels to 79.7 per cent, which translated into average revenue per available room (revpar) of £105 (£100 in 2011).
In the European market, outright ownership of several joint ventures boosted results in the Netherlands with reported revenues 47 per cent higher at €17.4m. However, on a like-for-like basis, the performance was in line with the market, rising by 5 per cent to €12.4m. The room rate was €110, but revpar was down by 1.7 per cent to €79 after a drop in occupancy. Germany and Hungary performed the best across the line with higher occupancy boosting revpar by 4 per cent to €50.7m.
Broker Investec forecasts pre-tax profits for 2012 of €14.4m, giving EPS of 32.4¢ (from €8.9m and EPS 32.5¢ in 2011)
PPHE HOTEL GROUP (PPH) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 208p | MARKET VALUE: | £84.9m | |
| TOUCH: | 203-213p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 260p | LOW: 200p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.8% | PE RATIO: | 7 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 489p* | NET DEBT: | 188% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (€m) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 96.0 | 1.4 | 0.04 | nil |
| 2012 | 111 | 54.9 | 1.34 | 6.0 |
| % change | +16 | +3,828 | +3,250 | – |
Ex-div: 22 Aug Payment: 3 Oct *Includes intangible assets of €39.4m or 76p a share £1=€1.27 | ||||
