Dalata Hotel Group FY revenues set to exceed €500m

Irish hotel operator Dalata Hotel Group said on Wednesday that annual revenues were expected to exceed €500.0m for the first time in the history of the company.

Dalata stated that a "strong recovery in trade" had led to group like-for-like revenues per available room rising 21% ahead of 2019 levels for the September to November period, with all regions performing well.

Adjusted underlying earnings for the year ending 31 December were guided to be in excess of €182.0m, up from €162.0m in 2019.

The AIM-listed group also noted that corporate bookings had picked up after the summer period but highlighted that supply in Ireland remained "constrained" due to rooms in use for government-related business, primarily the provision of emergency accommodation for refugees.

Looking forward, Dalata said: "The group is cautiously optimistic on its outlook for 2023. Engagement with corporate customers and tour operators on demand and pricing has been positive. There are also positive demand indicators in Ireland and the UK, including on the resumption of more normalised conference business levels and the continuing return of international travellers, in particular from the US market.

"We continue to monitor the macroeconomic backdrop and any potential for a slowdown, most notably in domestic leisure demand. However, we are not seeing any such indicators in our trade levels to date."

As of 0950 GMT, Dalata shares had shot up 10.23% to 299.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com