Jarvis issues early warning on profits

Hotel group Jarvis has issued a warning on half-year profits just four months into its new financial year.

Chairman John Jarvis said at the company's annual general meeting that turnover in the first 16 weeks of the financial year was 3% less than last year.

He added: "It would be prudent to continue to anticipate a reduction in our first-half profits for the 28 weeks to 12 October."

The group's London hotels showed a 6% decline in sales, but this was a marked improvement on the six months to 31 March, when turnover was down by 19% on the previous year. Turnover at the group's regional hotels was down by 2.5% on the same 16-week period in 2001.

Jarvis said that business in the regions had been helped by the Commonwealth Games, the Farnborough Air Show and Royal Ascot.

Business continued to be difficult in the corporate market, said Jarvis, with turnover down by 8% and group travel business down by 4% on the same period a year earlier.

But UK leisure business was up by 21% on the first four months of 2001.

by Samantha McClary