Dalata hopes to break even in first half as customers return to hotels
Dalata Hotel Group expects adjusted first-half profit to be near break-even level as occupancy rises and it continues to cut costs amid a national reopening from pandemic restrictions.
The London-listed Irish hotel operator said second-quarter trading improved as customers were allowed to return to hotels on 17 May. It said occupancy in the second quarter was 24% in Dublin, 32% in regional Ireland, and 30% in the UK.
Breaking even for the first half of the year would be a major milestone for the company, whose industry has been hit especially hard by repeated Covid-19 lockdowns over the past 18 months.
Dalata Hotel Group expects adjusted first-half profit to be near break-even level as occupancy rises and it continues to cut costs amid a national reopening from pandemic restrictions.
The London-listed Irish hotel operator said second-quarter trading improved as customers were allowed to return to hotels on 17 May. It said occupancy in the second quarter was 24% in Dublin, 32% in regional Ireland, and 30% in the UK.
Breaking even for the first half of the year would be a major milestone for the company, whose industry has been hit especially hard by repeated Covid-19 lockdowns over the past 18 months.
Nonetheless, it still expects business to remain significantly below 2019 levels, with both cities requiring the return of international travel to bolster occupancy more substantially.
Dalata said it is on track to open a further six hotels in Dublin, Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow between November and May next year.
However, the previously announced Maldron Hotel in Birmingham will not go ahead as the developer had run into “difficulties in relation to the site”, it added.
The company said that it has a pipeline of nearly 3,000 rooms to open over the next three years and that it will work on expanding the pipeline further in the coming months.
CEO designate Dermot Crowley said: “Covid-19 continues to have a very significant impact on the hospitality industry. I remain encouraged by the pace of the vaccine roll-out in both the UK and Ireland but am also aware of the threats posed by the uncertainty surrounding the potential impact of the Delta variant.
“In Ireland, international travel for non-essential reasons is currently expected to resume from 19 July. I look forward to welcoming international guests back to our hotels in the not-too-distant future.”
Dalata said it had cash and undrawn debt facilities of €267m (£229m).
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