Peel Hotels' revenue rises while unsure over impact of Brexit vote

AIM-listed Peel Hotels’ half-year revenue increased while it remains uncertain over the fallout from the Brexit vote on the volume of guests.

For the six months ended 14 August, revenue increased by 1.8% to about £9.1m, compared to the same period last year, as operating profit rose by 9.1% to £880,119.

Hotel gross profit before depreciation and group administration increased 2.7% to about £1.7m. Over the same period, earnings before interest, tax and depreciation (EBITDA) rose by 4.2% to £1.3m.

Revenue per available room climbed 2.9%, while occupancy was down 2.3% and the average room rate was up 5.3%.

Pre-tax profit increased 19.2% to £592,807.

At the end of the period, net debt was £9.4m and decreased by £732,854 from end of the end of the last year, due to an ongoing reduction in finance costs.

Basic earnings per share rose to 3.4p from 2.8p last year.

Chairman Robert Peel said: “Our challenge is to control our overall costs of doing business in line with modest overall turnover growth. Revenue per available room growth is key to increasing our profits and we have made solid progress in this area albeit at the expense of volume.

“It is difficult to be certain post-Brexit but a low pound certainly should encourage incoming volume as well as serving as an incentive for British residents to spend more of their leisure time at home.”

During the six months, the company spent £421,216 mainly on restructuring certain bedrooms at the Crown & Mitre Hotel in Carlisle and on the completion of Bistro George restaurant at the George Hotel in Wallingford.

The company plans to spend £700,000 in this financial year to improve standards in the portfolio of hotels.

Shares in Peel Hotels were down 1.24% to 114.56p at 1231 BST.