The Dalata Hotel Group – which operates via its Clayton and Maldron Hotel chains in Ireland, the UK and Germany – expects to post profits of over €100m for the first six months of this year.
In a trading update, for the year to date, the hotel group – Ireland’s largest – said it had seen “a very strong first half trading performance” and expects adjusted pre-tax earnings to top €100m.
Dalata reiterated its confidence for the full summer season and said RevPAR (revenue per available room; a leading growth metric for the hotel sector) in the first half of the year was 28% ahead of 2019 levels for the January to April period. For the entire first half of this year, RevPAR is expected to be 29% ahead of the same period in pre-Covid 2019.
Dalata said it has seen a strong mix of corporate and leisure business boosted by the return of international travel and sustained domestic demand.
Dermot Crowley, CEO, Dalata said:
“I am delighted with our performance for the year to date. The financial performance is the result of the dedication and professionalism of our teams in our hotels and central office – our people remain our greatest strength. I am very pleased with the performance of the hotels we recently added to the portfolio, it gives me great confidence that the current pipeline of new hotels will also create significant value for our shareholders. We continue to deliver on our growth strategy with the exciting addition of two new hotels in London since the start of the year. The excellence of our people, the ongoing strength of demand across our markets and the quality of our portfolio gives me great confidence for the remainder of the year.”
Back in February, Dalata posted a return to annual profit (for 2022) for the first time since before the Covid crisis, along with record revenues which exceeded €500m for the first time.
In its annual general meeting, in April, group chairman John Hennessy told shareholders that management was optimistic for the summer months and see “a very bright future for our business”.
