Mandarin Oriental underlying bottom line rises 18.6% to US$65.1m for fiscal year 2018

HOTELIER Mandarin Oriental International, which is part of the Jardine Matheson Group, saw underlying net profit grow 18.6 per cent to US$65.1 million for the fiscal year 2018.

This was supported by the group's owned properties in Hong Kong and its Singapore hotel, as well as receipt of one-off fees in respect of Las Vegas and Atlanta as management contracts there were terminated following a change in ownership of the properties.

Revenue per average room (RevPAR) rose 9 per cent on a like-for-like basis (for all hotels operational for both 2017 and 2018.)

For the 12 months ended Dec 31, combined total revenue of hotels under management crept up 1.2 per cent to US$1.4 billion from the year-ago period.

In Asia, RevPAR was up 9 per cent overall in the year on a like-for-like basis due to better demand across the region. In Europe, RevPAR increased 14 per cent on a like-for-like basis due to "a substantial improvement in a handful of hotels". In the US, RevPAR rose 4 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

Underlying earnings per share expanded to 5.16 US cents from 3.46 US cents in the preceding year. Net asset value per share slipped to 0.98 US cent as at Dec 31 from 1.01 US cents a year ago.

Dividend per share was flat at three US cents.

Chairman Ben Keswick said in a statement: "The outlook for 2019 remains positive. The planned closure of The Excelsior for redevelopment in March 2019, however, will substantially reduce the Group's underlying profit."

The closure is part of the group's plan to redevelop the site as a commercial building. 

He added that results will benefit from the full opening in the spring of the newly renovated London hotel, partially offset by the impact of the renovations in Bangkok and Madrid.