Millennium and Copthorne Hotels reports profit drop due to "strong pound"
Millennium and Copthorne Hotels has reported falling revenue and profit before tax in its results for the first quarter of the year.
Its revenue dropped to £175.3m for the first quarter of 2014, compared to £175.9m for the same quarter in 2013 (down 0.3%). Its profit before tax was at £20.1m for 2014, down from £23.8m in 2013 (down 15.5%).
Despite steady trading and higher property sales, the group said it had been affected by "adverse foreign exchange movements".
However, it did say that on a "constant currency basis", its revenue had increased by 5.9% to £165m.
Chairman Kwek Leng Beng, said that the strong pound has impacted on the reported profits, but added that he was still "cautiously optimistic".
He said: "Foreign exchange movements cannot be easily quantified but have the potential to impact results, when translating into sterling. Whilst reported revenues and profits fell because of the strong pound, the Group enjoyed stable underlying trading during the first quarter. With Europe and US showing signs of increasing stability, we remain cautiously optimistic about the rest of the year."
The hotel group is to acquire several properties across 2014, including the Chelsea Harbour Hotel, which was acquired in March, followed by Novotel Times Square (set for June 2014) and the Boscolo Palace Roma, which is expected to complete by the third quarter of the year subject to conditions.
The results come following reports of strong profits for last year (an increase of 65%), after the company was boosted by strong sales at its Singapore development. However, last year also saw hotel revenue fall by 1.5%.
Millennium and Copthorne pushes profit up 65% thanks to Singapore apartment sales >>