Millennium & Copthorne profits fall by a third

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels saw its full year pre-tax profits plunge by more than a third (36%) to £188m (2013: £295m).

Revenue for the global group also fell, down 22.4% to £826m (2013: £1,064m) following the sale of a group of condominium units in Singapore under the Glyndebourne name, which contributed a profit of £139m in 2013.

The company said its results for the year ended 31 December 2014 were also "adversely affected" by the strong pound sterling, its reporting currency.

Group revenue per available room (revpar) was up 2.8% to £71.55, with the US being the strongest performing region, with revpar growth of more than 13%.

Group chief executive Wong Hong Ren is set to leave this role at the end of the month. He will be replaced by Aloysius Lee, who was previously at Singapore-based South Beach Consortium.

Commenting on the results, Millennium & Copthorne chairman Kwek Leng Beng said: "The group continues to build strong foundations for further growth through a carefully executed asset management strategy.

"Results from this in 2014 included the completion of the guest room refurbishment at the Grand Hyatt Taipei, the acquisition of new properties in London, New York and Rome, as well as the opening of a newly constructed hotel in Tokyo's Ginza district.

"Our results in 2013 were boosted significantly by the recognition of revenue and profit on the Glyndebourne development.

"Our hotel trading results were positive, despite revenue and profit being adversely affected by the strength of the pound sterling, especially during the earlier part of the financial year."

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