Mandarin Oriental’s H1 loss widens to US$69.2 million on fair-value losses
MANDARIN Oriental saw its net loss widen to US$69.2 million for the first half of the year from US$18.3 million in the year-ago period.
The hotel investment and management group booked a net fair value loss of S$140.2 million on its investment assets – a commercial property under development and a completed residential property.
On Friday (Jul 28), Mandarin Oriental said the valuation of the Causeway Bay site under development decreased between Dec 31, 2022 and Jun 30, 2023, resulting in a non-trading loss for the group of US$141 million.
Loss per share came in at 5.48 US cents. The previous year’s loss per share was 1.45 US cents.
H1 revenue rose 31 per cent to US$260.7 million, led by strong performance in the group’s hotels in Europe and the Middle East, which achieved record rates and strong occupancies.
This was slightly offset by a more gradual recovery of business in Hong Kong and the temporary closure of Mandarin Oriental Singapore in March 2023 for refurbishment, the group said.
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For the first half of 2023, combined total revenue of hotels under management was US$882 million, 30 per cent higher than the US$679.4 million recorded from the year before. Total revenue was also 38 per cent higher than the 2019 figure, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
Net debt fell to US$233 million as at Jun 30, from US$376 million at the end of 2022.
An interim dividend of 1.5 US cents was declared for the half year. It will be paid on Oct 11.
Looking ahead, Mandarin Oriental said it has several new openings scheduled in the second half of 2023, including four new hotels, a rebranding project in Saudi Arabia and a standalone residences project in New York.
It has secured four new hotel management contracts and a standalone residences project in Madrid, which will take the group’s pipeline to 27 hotels and two standalone residences over the next five years.
Giving an update on Mandarin Oriental Singapore, group chairman Ben Keswick said the hotel is on track to re-open in September.
Mandarin Oriental on Friday closed at US$1.62, up 1.3 per cent or US$0.02.
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