Mauritius leading hospitality major Lux* Resort Group showed a four-fold rise in post-tax profits to Rs 126.99 million for the half year ended December 31, 2013 compared to Rs 29.70 million for the year-ago period.
Also, the turnover of the group for the six months ended 31st December 2013 reached Rs 2 billion, a growth of 13% on last year.
The improved financial results were powered by increased tourist arrivals to Mauritius. Footfalls rose 5% to hit 521,442 for the six-month period to December 31, 2013, compared to the corresponding year-ago period.
The company credited the improved performance to increased Chinese footfalls, noting that Mauritius must continue to focus increasingly on China with 97 million outbound tourists in 2013 and a forecast of 112 million in 2014.
The company said in the results statement, “We are encouraged by the improvement noted in arrivals from the UK since July 2013 and the significant increase in the number of tourists from China following introduction of additional direct flights to and from Shanghai.”
However, it also noted that tourist arrivals in Maldives grew by 17% to reach 585,535 in the same period, observing that Maldives is maintaining its lead essentially due to “their proactive and pragmatic approach to connectivity”.
In the July to December period, the group generated a net cash flow of Rs 158 million from operations compared to Rs 70 million for the same period last year and paid down a total of Rs 238 million in term loans, reducing its interest payout and boosting profits.
Further, the stellar rise in profits was also powered by improved performance of associate companies in the period under review, particularly in the last quarter from October to December 2013.
The Tamassa Hotel doubled its profit to Rs 14 million and the share it contributes to LUX* profits amounted to Rs 7 million compared to Rs 3 million in the year-ago period.
The group occupancy for the quarter was at the same level as last year at 74% and Room Revenue per Available Room increased by 7% driven by improved Average Daily Rate.
Total revenue for the quarter under review reached Rs 1.2bn up by 7% on the corresponding quarter last year.
The operating profit for the quarter improved by 14% from Rs 280m to Rs 320m, while net finance costs decreased by Rs 6 million on reduced borrowings and conversion of a significant portion of rupee loans into euro at lower interest rates.
Paul Jones, CEO of Lux* Resorts group, attributed the 13% increase in revenues and 43% increase in operating profits for the six months ending December 31, 2013 to the company’s emphasis on training and development of their staff.
Image (Company): The improved financial results were powered by increased tourist arrivals to Mauritius, which rose 5% to hit 521,442 for the half-year ended December 31.
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