- Strong recovery, new hotels ahead of expectations
- Record sales and profit expected in 2022
- No signs of slowdown in domestic leisure demand
Ireland’s largest hotel operator Dalata Hotel (DAL:AIM) said a strong recovery in demand continued into the second half of the year and it now expects to generate record full year revenues and profit, sending the shares up 10% to 299p.
The group was ‘cautiously’ optimistic on the outlook for 2023 based on a normalisation of conference business and the return of international travellers particularly from the US.
Dalata said it was mindful of the potential for a slowdown in domestic leisure but was not seeing ‘any such indicators’ in trade levels.
RECORD YEAR
Dalata expects revenues for the year to 31 December to be above €0.5 billion for the first time ever and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) to exceed €182 million which is around 12% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Like-for-like revenues per available room for September to November were 21% ahead of 2019 levels driven by a noticeable increase in US visitors supported by a favourable US dollar exchange rate.
The group’s new hotels are performing ahead of expectations with occupancy reaching 79% over the last two months in hotels opened between August 2021 and September 2022.
CEO Dermot Crowley commented: ‘2022 has been a very successful year for Dalata where we demonstrated our ability to bounce back from the challenges of Covid-19.
‘I am very pleased with how we managed the recovery in trade of our existing hotels, opened six new hotels and added our first hotel in continental Europe. We are proud to have recently opened our 50th hotel with the completion of Clayton Hotel Glasgow City.
‘Despite macroeconomic uncertainties, we remain confident in our ability to outperform with our well-invested product, ESG focus, decentralised operating model and track record of providing an excellent guest experience.’
STRONG PIPELINE
The group continues to develop its pipeline of hotels with the Maldron Hotel in Shoreditch, London expected to be completed by December 2023. The company has three more UK Maldron hotels due to open in 2024 in Brighton, Liverpool, and Manchester.
Dalata owns and operates two primary brands, Clayton Hotels and Maldron Hotels. The group’s portfolio comprises 50 primary 4-star hotels, situated in city centre locations, 18 leased hotels and three management contracts.
