Millennium & Copthorne's (MLC) pledge for the current year is to improve investment returns through the ongoing refurbishment of its hotels - a programme that will cost £240m in total. Key locations such as New York and Taipei have already been upgraded, allowing the group to increase room tariffs. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose from £64.81 to £67.32 as a result.
Headline profits were distorted by a number of one-off items. Adjusting for several hotels closed due to earthquake damage, lease expiry or redevelopment, like-for-like operating profits rose 6.6 per cent to £159m in constant currency terms.
RevPAR in both Singapore and London broke through the £100 barrier for the first time, to £101 and £106, respectively, while sales per room in the rest of Asia grew by an impressive 8.5 per cent. New York RevPAR fell by 3.2 per cent, reflecting the impact of the ONE UN refurbishment. Strip this out and average revenue rose by 2.2 per cent to £138. Cash generation was again strong, allowing the group to report a net cash position.
But trading conditions remain tough in the face of fierce competition. Like-for-like RevPAR in the first six weeks of the current year were down 10.2 per cent in Singapore and 9.6 per cent in London.
| MILLENNIUM & COPTHORNE HOTELS (MLC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 553p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.79bn | |
| TOUCH: | 552-555p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 572p | LOW: 450p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.5% | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 671p | NET CASH: | £52.2m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 703 | 103 | 21.3 | 6.30 |
| 2009 | 654 | 82.0 | 22.9 | 6.30 |
| 2010 | 744 | 129 | 30.9 | 10.0 |
| 2011 | 821 | 193 | 51.0 | 12.5* |
| 2012 | 768 | 171 | 42.0 | 13.6 |
| % change | -6 | -11 | -18 | +9 |
Ex-div: 20 Mar Payment: 17 May *Excludes 4p special dividend | ||||
