• Revenue increases by +6.8% and EBITDA by +4.4%
  • Significant increase in revenue from emerging markets such as Brazil (+43%), China (+31%) or Eastern Europe (+13%) offset the negative trend in 2011 (-5%) in the Spanish market
  • The hotel company reduces debt by €170 million to €1,003 million
  • The new company strategic plan foresees two different approaches to the environment in Spain and to the most dynamic markets and aims to position Meliá Hotels International amongst the top ten hotel management companies in the world

1. AREAS OF ACTIVITY:

Hotel business: underlying EBITDA of the hotel division grew by 12.5%, while another key indicator, the revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased again with 7 consecutive quarters of growth, achieving an increase of 9% overall in 2011. With respect to our major competitors, the RevPAR penetration rate improved in key cities including Madrid, London, Berlin, Paris and Milan

Financial management: Meliá Hotels International meets covenants again this year and also a major reduction in debt in the last quarter to 1.003 million euros. The company managed to maintain a comfortable liquidity position in 2011 after renewing all its credit facilities. The inter-annual debt increased by 5.8% due to the 60 million of Capex derived from the completion of the two Paradisus Resorts in Mexico. The company also plans to continue with the policy of advance refinancing of its most important maturities.

International growth: with a strategic focus on Asia, Latin America and European cities, Meliá Hotels International has an active pipeline of 31 hotels and added 20 hotels (5,056 rooms) in 2011, approximately one new hotel every three weeks. The company currently has 354 hotels (in operation or in the pipeline).

Strategy: as a "glocal" company, Meliá Hotels International develops strategies tailored to the different scenarios worldwide. While in Spain the company is focusing on contingency plans and savings, outside of Spain the focus is on high growth and significant improvement in operating margins. International growth will be a priority and will be based on a strategy of regionalization and the creation of more effective and efficient "hubs" in Americas, EMEA, Spain, Mediterranean and Asia.

Business model: the company kept on rotating assets in 2011, with an increasing focus on upscale and premium segments, while 100% of the hotels added required little capital investment (management, lease or franchise). With regard to hotel owners, the company consolidated the value it adds through market leadership, loyalty programmes - loyal customers now represent 22% of rooms sold -, the standardization of its hotel brands, and the efficiency of its management systems.

Commitment to social responsibility: Meliá Hotels International exceeds its objectives in its partnership with UNICEF, based on raising customer and employee awareness while also raising funds for child support projects, and is included amongst the Carbon Disclosure Project Iberia 125. The SAVE energy efficiency project resulted in a decrease in CO2 emissions per customer of 6.3%, a 9% reduction in water consumption, and a 7.4% drop in energy consumption.

Outlook 2012: the situation will continue to drive uneven business development across regions, with weakness in the southern economies in the Euro area offset by a stronger performance in Asia and Latin America-Caribbean. Macroeconomic indicators and confidence indices point to a more positive trend than expected in the hotel business in the U.S., Japan and Germany, and globally MHI expects a single-digit increase in RevPAR for the year.

2. BUSINESS REVIEW 2011

2011 had both high and low points for Meliá Hotels International, with the most striking achievement being an overall increase in RevPAR (revenue per available room) of 9%. In Spain, the strength of holiday destinations dependent on external demand contrasts with the weakness in city hotels and segments which are more dependent on Spanish domestic travellers, which continue to await an economic recovery.

The company continued to increase its focus on markets such as the Americas (North, Central and Latin America, especially in emerging markets like Brazil, where revenues increased by 43%, and Colombia), Asia (revenues from China grew by 31%), and the most dynamic European cities, where the company will continue to consolidate its presence.

In 2011, Meliá Hotels International successfully carried out major changes including the name of its corporate brand from Sol Meliá to Meliá Hotels International, along with an internal reorganization to strengthen areas such as Asia-Pacific and Real Estate, which will be key to ensure growth and focus the company on a business model based on hotel management, optimizing the value and management of its significant real estate assets through partnerships, asset rotation and value enhancement.

The company also began to prepare a new Strategic Plan focusing specially on initiatives to maximize growth and margins such as a) the creation of a culture more clearly focused on maximizing revenues, and b) strengthening customer loyalty based on customer knowledge.

The results of this new focus on revenue and customers are already evident, as the company now has 2.5 million members of its "mas" rewards loyalty programme who generated 22% of room sales for the year, and has also achieved half a million fans on Facebook, becoming the third hotel company worldwide with more supporters after Hilton and Starwood.

By brand, Sol Hotels (100% Spain and resort) increased RevPAR by 19.1%, thanks mainly to the results in the Balearic Islands (+26,7%) and Canary Islands (+20.1%). The TRYP by Wyndham brand (urban, 76% in Spain) saw RevPAR increase by 4.1% and began to benefit from the internationalization of the brand through the MHI alliance with the Wyndham Hotel Group. Meliá Hotels & Resorts increased RevPAR by 4.2%, 6.2% excluding city hotels.

The "Premium" brands (Paradisus, Gran Meliá and ME by Meliá), with 81% of its portfolio in the Americas, reported an average increase of 9.8% in RevPAR, underpinned by hotels in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and marked by a strong duality between the demand from the U.S. and Canada, which grew by 9% and 12% respectively, and the Spanish market which contracted by 14.7%.

3. OUTLOOK FOR 2012

The duality of the economic situation in Spain and outside of Spain influences the company forecast of a two-speed development in the business (with strong growth and profit maximization in the international arena contrasting with a strategy to generate savings and efficiencies through new clusters, portfolio adjustment and lease renegotiations to adapt to the economic conditions in Spain).

The strategic shift for the coming years should enable the company to address the scenarios both in Spain and abroad with a culture focused on maximizing revenues and efficient management of costs, customer loyalty and optimising customer relationships (the company has just over half a million fans on Facebook), increasing diversification and specialization in the upscale and luxury segments, which now account for 84% of the hotels in the process of incorporation, and gradually transforming its business model to become large-scale global hotel management company.

In 2012, the company approach to maximizing revenues and customer loyalty will be strengthened with a significant investment in its e-business strategy, new sales teams, and new agreements with distribution partners, along with an increasing focus on alternative markets such as Brazil, Russia, Eastern Europe and China.

The maturity of Meliá Hotels International in areas that add value to hotel owners and investors, (Sales, Loyalty Programme, Management Systems and business process support, and brand standardization and recognition) facilitates the reorientation of the company towards a business model fundamentally based on hotel management - whatever their ownership - and supports a desire to become one of the "top ten" hotel management companies in the world.

By market, the irregular demand trends observed in 2011 will continue during 2012, for which the company is expecting a positive scenario in European cities, especially considering the major biannual fairs to be held in Germany - a market that grew by 8.7% and 35% in revenues and Ebitda respectively - the Olympic Games in London and a greater focus on the corporate segment in key company hotels, such as in Paris.

Equally positive is the trend in resort hotels and corporate travel in the Caribbean, favourably impacted by the recent opening of two Paradisus resorts with 906 rooms in Playa del Carmen (Mexico) and the continued growth of China and Southeast Asia, where Meliá Hotels International enjoys a growing presence in the urban and luxury resort segments. While Latin America and Asian countries will clearly contribute to growth, the U.S. is expected to show moderate growth in the election year.

Spain will continue to evolve along two different tracks, remaining positive in the leisure segment due to the instability in North Africa (as indicated by the figures for the first quarter in the Canary Islands), and with difficulties in secondary cities (less than 2% of operating profit), while Madrid and Barcelona will continue to show healthy growth in the business and leisure segments.

The company will release a new independent valuation of tits assets made by Jones Lang LaSalle in mid March. In any case, Meliá Hotels International would like to advance that no negative surprises are expected out of the valuation.

About Melia Hotels International

Founded in 1956 in Palma de Mallorca (Spain), Meliá Hotels International has more than 400 hotels open or in the process of opening, in more than 40 countries, and a portfolio of ten brands: Gran Meliá Hotels & Resorts, ME by Meliá, The Meliá Collection, Paradisus by Meliá, Meliá Hotels & Resorts, ZEL, INNSiDE by Meliá, Falcon's Resorts by Meliá, Sol by Meliá, and Affiliated by Meliá. The Company is one of the world's leading hotel chains in the leisure segment and its experience in this area has allowed it to consolidate itself in the growing market of urban hotels inspired by leisure. Its commitment to responsible tourism has led it to be recognised as the world's most sustainable hotel in 2022 according to S&P Global's Corporate Sustainability Assessment, as well as being a "Top Employer 2023" brand in Spain, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Italy and Germany. Meliá Hotels International is also part of the IBEX 35. For more information, please visit www.meliahotelsinternational.com