Thistle Hotels Full Year Trading Update - Unaudited Trading Results for the financial year ended 30 December 2001
Total turnover for the 52 weeks to 30 December 2001 was £305.3 million, 5.9% lower than for the 53 weeks to 31 December 2000. Revenue per available room (Revpar) fell 5.4% to £50.56 with occupancy down by 4.8 percentage points to 71.0% and average room rate up by 1.0% to £71.21. In London Revpar was down 8.8% to £60.61 and turnover decreased by 9.8% to £183.7m. In the Regions Revpar was up 3.3% to £37.73 with turnover up 0.5% to £121.6m.
The decline in international business and leisure travel since the terrorist activities on 11 September has been particularly significant in the London market, with London turnover down 26.3% over the 15 weeks commencing 17 September (weeks 38-52) compared to the prior year, broadly in line with the latest published data on the overall London hotel market. Outside London, turnover was down 6.8% against the prior year in weeks 38-52 with declines comparable to those seen in London at the airport hotels at Heathrow and Gatwick and with turnover marginally down in aggregate elsewhere. In total over this period, turnover was down 19.0% against the prior year.
We acted quickly in the immediate aftermath of 11 September to reduce our cost base, by reducing our headcount by approximately 10%. During 2001 we completed the three-year major upgrade programme positioning Thistle as a leading full service hotel group and improving our comparative position. Since 11 September we restricted our capital expenditures to essential items only. As a result of these actions and despite the lower turnover, our net debt at the end of the year was comparable with our net debt at the end of the previous financial year.
Ian Burke, Thistle's Chief Executive Officer, said, "Trading conditions have been very difficult in recent months, particularly in London. It remains difficult to forecast prospects for the hotel industry for 2002 and we remain cautious on market conditions for at least the next six months. However, following the actions taken over the past few years, the improved quality of both our assets and our management provides a better position from which to meet the challenges of these difficult market conditions."
For further information, please call Ian Burke, Thistle Hotels Plc 020 7723 0101 or Nick Denton Chelsea Hayes Hogarth Partnership Limited on 020 7357 9477.
Notes to Editors:
Thistle is the largest hotel group in London with 22 hotels in prime locations throughout the capital and has hotels in key regional cities of England, Scotland and Wales.
There are 56 hotels in the group, of which 55 are owned and 1 is managed. There are a total of 10,727 bedrooms, of which 70 rooms are managed. In London, Thistle has 6,014 rooms in 22 hotels and, in the regions, 4,713 rooms in 34 hotels (including 70 rooms in Thistle Poole under management).
Thistle's London hotels include the Thistle Tower, the Thistle Charing Cross, the Thistle Marble Arch, the Thistle City Barbican, the Thistle Victoria and The Royal Horseguards. Thistle has hotels in Aberdeen, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle among other regional centres as well as hotels at airports in Aberdeen, East Midlands, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton and Manchester.