Ritz Paris in the red

The Ritz Paris has suffered a massive £2.6m loss blamed partly on economic stagnation and the weak dollar.

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>

In its latest set of accounts for the year ended 31 December 2002, the hotel, owned by Mohammed Fayed, grew operating profit by €1m (£686,482) to €4.9m (£3.3m) and reported a "stable" annual occupancy rate of 74.8%.

Losses for the year came in at €3.8m (£2.6m) against €3.7 (£2.5) the previous year, partly due to an increase in interest charges.

A statement from the company said: "The directors anticipate that the net loss will increase in the year 2003."

It said that political uncertainties and a major downturn in the international travel from the US market had taken their toll on the hotel's revenue.

But this year's loss, it added, will be helped by the sale of a warehouse in Paris earlier this year for an undisclosed sum.

by Christina Golding

Buy this week's Caterer magazine for more industry news and analysis.