US and Asian buys boost M&C profits

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels saw its pre-tax profits climb by 88% and its turnover by 161% during the six months ended 30 June.

The increases follow Millennium's acquisitions last year of the Asian hotel interests of its parent company, CDL, and of US hotel chain Regal International.

Group turnover rose to £322.2m, from £123.6m during the same period last year. Pre-tax profit was £53.6m, against £28.5m in 1999.

Chairman Kwek Leng Beng described the performance as "very satisfactory".

He said: "We will continue to evaluate suitable acquisition opportunities as and when they occur."

Occupancy for the group was 69.1%, average room rate £67.04 and revenue per available room (revpar) £46.32. This compares with 67.5% occupancy in the same properties last year, an average room rate of £63.97 and revpar of £43.18.

On continuing operations, the company recorded underlying growth of 8% in turnover, to £122.4m, and 11% in pre-tax profits, to £29.7m.

In London, occupancy was up by 4.6 percentage points to 83.9%, average room rate was up by nearly 5% to £91.05 and revpar was up by 11% to £76.39.

Fortunes in the group's provincial UK hotels were mixed. Properties such as the Copthornes at Slough and Gatwick recorded growth, but Manchester suffered from "an imbalance between supply and demand" in the local market.

Cardiff was hit by an increase in the number of hotel bedrooms in the city.

The Millennium Glasgow is undergoing a major refurbishment at a cost of £5m.

Overall occupancy for the group's UK regional hotels was down by 0.6 percentage points to 71.5%, although average room rate increased by 3% to £68.91, producing a 2% increase in revpar, to £49.27.

by David Shrimpton