Dalata says it expects to be close to break-even at adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) for the first six months of this year as Covid restrictions ease and it continues with cost management.
In a trading update Ireland’s largest hotel group said it is mitigating the impact of reduced trading levels through “pro-active cost control” and the use of Government supports.
In the months of April, May and June Dalata said trade at its hotels improved as non-essential customers were allowed to return to hotels from May 17 in England and Wales.
Non-essential hotel guests have been allowed back since June 2 in the Republic of Ireland.
Dalata hotels include the Maldron and Clayton brands.
Occupancies for the second quarter of this year were 24pc in Dublin, 32pc in Regional Ireland and 30pc in the UK.
Since re-opening, trading has been “better than expected”.
Dalata said lead times on bookings remains short, however the group's forward bookings continue to improve.
Occupancies for June were 37pc in Dublin, 60pc in Regional Ireland and 44pc in the UK.
There has been a bounce in leisure demand at its hotels in Regional Ireland and Regional UK driven by staycations during the summer months, the company said.
While demand for its Dublin and London hotels in the summer months is expected to be ahead of the level achieved last year, the company said demand for city-centre stays will remain “significantly below” 2019 levels.
“Both cities require the return of international travel for occupancies to recover more substantially,” Dalata said.
The Dublin-listed group continues to protect its liquidity, with current cash and undrawn debt facilities of €267m. Since the end of December Dalata has had cash outflow of €27m.
Dermot Crowley, CEO designate of Dalata, said: “Despite the continuing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, we continue to focus on protecting what is critical to Dalata's long-term success.”
“Our people are enthusiastic and engaged, our balance sheet and financial position remain robust, we have maintained communications with our customers, and we have strong partnerships with the institutional landlords who are fundamental to our growth strategy,” he added.
The company plans to open its first hotel in Glasgow next month.
It is on course to open a further six hotels in Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow and Dublin between November this year and May next year.
However, a previously announced Maldron Hotel in Birmingham will not now be going ahead “as the developer has encountered difficulties in relation to the site,” Mr Crowley said.
“We still have an exciting pipeline of close to 3,000 rooms to open over the next three years. We will work on expanding this pipeline further in the coming months,” he added.
Dalata was founded in 2007 and listed on the stock market in 2014.
The group's portfolio now consists of 29 owned hotels, 12 leased hotels and three management contracts with a total of 9,261 bedrooms.
In addition is currently developing 12 new hotels and has plans to extend four of its existing hotels, adding close to 3,000 bedrooms in total. This will bring the total number of bedrooms in Dalata to over 12,200.
