hi guys..
see announcement below, any views appreciated.
Responsible Entity
Grand Hotel Management Limited
ABN 97 067 903 306
Level 1, Austral House
115-119 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Telephone: +613 9667 8888
Facsimile: +613 9667 8833
Email: [email protected]
ASX Release
4 May 2004
GHG MARCH 2004 UPDATE
The Board of Grand Hotel Group (GHG) today announced that the results for the nine months ending 31 March
2004 continued the improvements from the half year results on the same period last year, reflecting the successful
implementation of the Group’s strategy and the industry upturn.
9 months to 31/03/04.. 9 months to 31/03/03 Variance
Group Revenue ($m) 126.10............ 117.32 +7.48%
Net property income ($m) 31.24........ 27.73 +12.67%
EBITDA ($m) 27.92.......................... 23.88 +16.91%
EPS (cents) 1.30........................... (0.84) +253.54%
Hotel trading
GHG Chairman, Mr Bill Conn said “Improved conditions were evident in the three months ending 31 March 2004
compared to last year, despite the portfolio having reduced in size due to asset disposals. This improved
performance was primarily driven by a lift in corporate activity which was reflected in an increase in occupancy
levels.”
“Previous cycles suggest that the leading indicator for recovery is improvements in occupancy rates which in turn
place upward pressure on room rates which then drive hotel profitability. The occupancy levels of the last 6
months are consistent with this pattern”, GHG Managing Director, Mr Garry Cameron said.
Revenue per available room (Revpar) from the Group’s portfolio improved steadily throughout the past 9 month
period. In most assets, improvements are moderately ahead of expectations. Revpar for the 5 star portfolio is up
8.1% for the 9 month period on last year.
“GHG’s net profit will start to show more marked improvements as the full flow-on is felt from our actions to reduce
debt from $276 million in June 2003 to $206 million at 31 March 2004. These should flow into the June, September
and December quarters’ results”, Mr Cameron noted.
Board changes
The Board continued to monitor opportunities to add appropriate resources at Board level and appointed Mr
Michael Maxwell from Babcock & Brown as a new Board member. At the same time, the Board noted Mr Griffin’s
intention to retire from the Board this coming June after 8 years of valuable service.
The Board also approved the update of its corporate governance policies and procedures in accordance with the
latest best practice recommendations. The policies and charters will be available from the GHG website
(www.ghg.net.au) shortly.
Outlook
“Improved operating conditions continued in the March quarter thanks in part to our defensive operating strategies
implemented last year. The final quarter is always a difficult trading period with seasonally slower travel months
due to Easter and the onset of winter. Nevertheless looking ahead, and assuming a consistent return of stable
trading conditions, we confirm our expectation that the year ending 30 June 2004 will show a materially improved
performance against the previous year and we will make an announcement regarding the full year distribution in
mid June,” Mr Conn concluded.
For all enquiries, please contact:
Garry Cameron
Managing Director, Grand Hotel Group
Telephone: 03 9667 8888 Mobile: 0418 369 641
GHG
grand hotel group
