Rezidor chief Kurt Ritter warns of tough times ahead
The business outlook is very uncertain, Kurt Ritter, chief executive of the Rezidor Hotel Group, has warned.
Ritter made his comments during the reporting of the interim results for the company, which operates a portfolio of 434 hotels in 65 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
While the group announced a loss after tax of £6.2m for the six months from January to June 2012 (an improvement from the £9.9m loss during the same period in 2011), it achieved a profit after tax of £4.8m in the second quarter of 2012 (up from £3.7m in the corresponding period last year).
Revenue increased by 6.3% to £349.6m during the first half of the year, with revenue per available room (revpar) up by 5.7%. In the second quarter, revenue rose by 5.4% to £187.3m, with a like-for-like revpar up by 5.9%.
"I am please to report an improved result for the second quarter, despite a continued fragile global macroeconomic climate," Ritter said. "We outperformed the industry in terms of revpar growth, fuelled by the revenue initiatives launched together with Carlson last year."
Ritter went on to say that, as a result of the uncertain outlook, the group remain focused on "improving profitability, both in absolute terms and relative to the industry."
Rezidor, which is a member of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, operates 50 hotels in the UK (25 Park Inn by Radisson, 24 Radisson Blu and one Hotel Missoni in Edinburgh).
Carlson and Rezidor join forces to create the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group >>
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By Janet Harmer
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