Sydney - Wednesday - November 19: (RWE Aust Business News) -...

Sydney - Wednesday - November 19: (RWE Aust Business News) - Oaks
Hotels & Resorts (ASX:OAK), has defied Australia's economic and tourism
downturn, today reporting a 67 per cent hike in first
quarter EBITDA over the previous corresponding period to $8.28 million.
Shareholders at today's AGM were told that, based on the buoyant
first quarter performance and a pipeline of properties scheduled to open
over the coming 18 months, Oaks remained on track to meet its FY09
guidance of EBITDA totalling $41m to $44m, and NPAT of between $16.5m to
$18.7m.
Under the guidance forecast Oaks is aiming for operational EBITA
of between $36m to $39m, supplemented by $5m through the sale of
Management Letting Rights.
Managing director, Brett Pointon, told shareholders the
surge in first quarter profitability was driven by the nine new
properties opened by the group in FY 2008, which had boosted total rooms
in its serviced letting pool 24pc to 4,267 in the 12 months to 30th June
2008.
He said Oaks' strategy of strengthening its market presence over
the past two years was paying decided dividends at a time when some
regional and tourism focused accommodation markets were suffering a
downturn.
"Excluding developing properties, our average occupancy rates
across our CBD portfolio rose from 87.96pc in the previous corresponding
period, to 89.87pc in the first quarter of FY09.
"A tightening room supply in CBD markets also helped underwrite
higher room rates in the FY 2009 first quarter, with our established CBD
properties experiencing a 5.2pc jump in average rates over the previous
corresponding period to $156.42," he said.