(Barbados Nation) Barbados’ tourism rebound has had a positive ripple effect on the bottom line of one of its largest hotel operators.
Elegant Hotels Group plc, which owns and operates five properties whose 483 rooms are about a quarter of the island’s hotel room stock, is reporting a near Bds$20 million pre-tax profit and getting ready to cash in one what is expected to be a strong 2015/2016 winter season.
The group, which also owns Daphne’s Restaurant, is pressing on with plans to add to its holdings here while expanding into the Caribbean.
Elegant’s results for the financial year ended September 30 were released last week on AIM – the London Stock Exchange’s sub-market for smaller companies – where it is listed, coinciding with the beginning of the new winter season.
The results, which included revenues of Bds$60.1 million, have pleased the group’s chief executive officer Sunil Chatrani.
“This has been a landmark year for Elegant Hotels. We achieved strong revenue and underlying profit growth, and demand for Barbados as a tourist destination remains buoyant, with arrivals and flight capacity both continuing to improve,” he said.
“The group’s admission to AIM in May has provided us with a great foundation from which to grow and expand, both organically and through acquisitions in Barbados and the wider Caribbean. The year 2016 promises to be one of further significant development, and we are excited about the future prospects for the business.”
Elegant operates Colony Club, Tamarind, The House, Crystal Cove and Turtle Beach hotels. Officials said they were able to boost earnings by 4.3 per cent largely through “our strategic focus on driving rates while holding occupancy levels relatively stable”.
“Average daily rates (ADR) have grown by 5.7 per cent from Bds$353 in 2014 to Bds$373 in 2015, while occupancy has remained at circa 68 per cent across both periods. Increases in ADR attract little incremental cost so conversion to profit tends to be stronger than that of revenue growth from higher occupancy,” the company said.
