One year after its admission to London's Aim, Dalata Hotel Group (DHG) reported a 14 per cent increase in full-year cash profit to €6.1m (£4.3m). Overall, Dalata had a good year, with occupancy rates of 75.3 per cent, against 73.8 per cent in 2013. And together with an increase in the average room rate, revenue per available room (RevPAR) grew 15.7 per cent to €58.4m.
Aside from the operational angle, it is clear that last year's IPO has transformed the scale of the business. Dalata had €9m in bank debt at the time of its admission (which at the time equated to more than a third of its book value), but the €256m raised at the float not only bolstered the balance sheet, but provided ammunition for expansion.
The funds raised have gone towards several acquisitions, including hotels in Dublin, Derry, Galway and Wexford. Post period-end, the group also bought a portfolio of nine hotels from Moran Bewleys for €453m and it has just announced a deal to buy the Holiday Inn Hotel in Belfast for €25.7m. This means that all the IPO proceeds - together with an additional €48.6m fundraising last month - have been reinvested into the group's estate.
Irish broker Goodbody has put its forecasts under review, but prior to the results analysts had forecast EPS of 15.5ȼ in 2015, along with cash profit of €52m.
| DALATA HOTEL GROUP (DAL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 250p | MARKET VALUE: | £351m | |
| TOUCH: | 245-250p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 250p | LOW: 220p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 95 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 194ȼ | NET CASH: | €218m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (€m) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (ȼ) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 69.5 | 2.3 | na | nil |
| 2012 | 71.1 | -139 | na | nil |
| 2013 | 60.6 | 0.07 | -6074 | nil |
| 2014 | 79.1 | 4.2 | 3.7 | nil |
| % change | +31 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: na Payment: na £1=€1.40 | ||||
