easyHotel plc, the owner, developer, operator and franchisor of “super budget” branded hotels, has announced its results for the six months ended 31 March 2015.
Commenting on the results, Simon Champion, Chief Executive Officer said:
“easyHotel has continued to perform well, with a doubling of revenue year on year driven primarily by an increase in the capacity of our owned hotel portfolio. Profit growth has been dampened this year because of the additional costs incurred by being a public company, as well as the Group investing to meet significant development targets. Our expansion strategy is progressing well, with a new site acquired in Liverpool expected to open in Spring 2016. In addition, there has been an ongoing commitment to marketing and enhancing our customer experience, with a new website launched in March 2015 and a focus on improved customer service.
“Trading for the year ending 30 September 2015 continues in line with the Board’s expectations and we remain confident that we can secure properties in the UK and key European gateway cities and continue to expand our franchised hotels elsewhere, delivering a high return on investment for our shareholders.”
Financial Highlights
- Revenue up 104% to £2.59m (31 March 2014: £1.27m)
- Profit before tax (excluding corporate office expenses) up 122% to £1.35m (31 March 2014: £0.61m)
- Adjusted EBITDA (before one-off items) up 6% to £0.52m (31 March 2014: £0.49m)
- Profit before tax up 7% to £0.37m (31 March 2014: £0.34m)
- Basic earnings per share of 0.4p
Business Highlights
- Robust trading in all owned hotels
- Total operating hotel rooms increased by 12% since 30 September 2014 with easyHotel Croydon (103 rooms) successfully opened in November 2014 and running according to plan
- Acquisition of a freehold building in Liverpool following the period end should (subject to successful planning consent) increase owned rooms by 17%, with the hotel expected to open in Spring 2016
- Several opportunities currently being assessed to expand owned hotel portfolio in the UK and continental Europe
- Franchised hotel in Frankfurt opened in January 2015 and the pipeline includes easyHotel Prague, due to open on 5 June 2015
- The Group has a number of ongoing discussions regarding new franchise contracts
- New multilingual and responsive website launched and improved marketing initiatives implemented (with specific focus on digital marketing strategy) as well as improvements in customer service processes
Owned hotels: Old Street (London), Glasgow, Croydon
Franchise locations: Bulgaria (Sofia), Czech Republic (Prague) due to open on 5 June 2015, Germany (Berlin, Frankfurt), Hungary (Budapest), The Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague), Switzerland (Basel, Zurich), UAE (Dubai), UK (Edinburgh, London)
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