Snoozebox claims ‘turnaround' despite continued losses
Portable hotel company Snoozebox has claimed it has seen "demonstrable progress" in the first six months of this year, although the company still made a £1.6m loss over the period.
The news comes after a troubled period for the business, which last year unveiled a £5.1m loss for during the first six months of the period.
The company said it had now seen a turnaround in operating performance that has resulted in a positive contribution to central overheads from the events division (Eventz) of around £100,000, utilising the existing hotel room stock. This compares with an equivalent loss of £1.5m in the same period in 2013.
It said it had also reduced administrative expenses and central overheads by around £1.7m, to £2.4m from £4.1m in the first half of 2013
And it hailed an expected improvement in pre-exceptional EBITDA, with losses reducing to £1.6m in the first six months of the year from £4.2m in the same period last year.
Snoozebox has developed a strategy of deploying its ‘first generation' rooms on a long-term basis is on track. Approximately 40% of existing hotel room stock is now committed to long-term deployments including the Eden Project. The production of its new generation of rooms is said to be on track and will be launched in the autumn.
"I believe the progress made in the underlying operating model, combined with the launch of the Next Generation Portable Hotel in the autumn of this year, provides the platform on which to transform the performance of the business in 2015 and to scale it in 2016."
The first half of this year saw the company limit the number of events it attended in order to overhaul the operating model and refine service delivery. This strategy has resulted in high occupancy rates, with room rates ranging from £160 to £330 per night. Revenue of £0.7m is expected for the first half of 2014 compared to an events division revenue of £0.9m for the same period in 2013.
Revenues are expected to be higher in the second half of the year and key events include the British Grand Prix, the Silverstone Classic, Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games, Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival, the Moto GP and the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.
Meanwhile, planning permission for a 60-bedroom Snoozebox hotel at the Eden Project, in Cornwall, has been secured. The hotel will be deployed for an initial period of two years and is scheduled to open in October 2014. At present, the Company has committed approximately 40% of the existing hotel room stock on a long-term basis.
The company will publish its interim results on 30 September 2014.
