DUBLIN: Listed hotels group Dalata has said trading the final four months of 2016 has been marginally ahead of expectations.
The group, which operates Ireland’s two largest hotel brands, the Clayton and Maldron hotels, also forecast earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (ebitda) for the full-year will be at the upper end of analysts’ expectations
Dalata is Ireland’s largest hotel operator, with a portfolio of 40 three- and four-star hotels, offering over 7,500 rooms.
It said revenue per available room (RevPar) at its Dublin hotels was up 20.8 per cent for the 11 months to the end of November.
“As we had anticipated, the growth in the Dublin market was lower in the second half of the year but is still very healthy. To date, we have seen no impact of Brexit on any of our hotels in Ireland or the UK,” it said. Dalata said there will be over 4,700 Clayton rooms and over 2,700 Maldron rooms across Ireland and the UK by the third quarter of 2018.
In a note to investors, Davy said the statement implied earnings of close to 35 per cent, equivalent to ebitda of €84.4 million. This compares to Davy’s forecast of €82.8 million
“Encouragingly, Dalata continues to outperform the broader market in terms of RevPar growth, pointing once again to the quality of the group’s operations,” it said.
