Grupo Barceló’s Profits Rose By 25% To €125M In 2016

28 April 2017 – Expansión

Grupo Barceló earned €125 million in 2016, which represented an increase of 25% compared to the previous year. Moreover, the hotel group expects to record a net profit of €150 million this year thanks to improvements in management and investments undertaken. The company obtained a gross operating profit (EBITDA) of €338.6 million in 2016, up by 12% and spent more than €140 million improving its hotel stock, of which €110 million was invested in a dozen establishments in Latin America, according to its annual report.

Grupo Barceló closed 2016 with turnover of €2,855 million, up by 15.1%, and net sales of €1,979.7 million (+23.7%), having managed to reduce its net financial debt by 8.3% to €495 million. At the next General Shareholders’ Meeting, which will be held on 2 June, the Board of Directors will propose the distribution of a dividend amounting to €12.5 million. Last July, the firm distributed a dividend amounting to €10 million, which was charged against the results for 2015.

Forecasts

Looking ahead to this year, the company expects to generate EBITDA of almost €388 million. “This year, we expect to see improvements in all of the countries in which we have a presence. The data for the first few months of 2017 show an improving trend in terms of occupancy rates, tariffs and RevPar (average revenue per available room).

Moreover, Barceló underlined that the soundness of its balance sheet will allow it to have access to “interesting” investment projects and to continue growing across all of its divisions. The company currently has 229 hotels in 21 countries, with almost 50,500 rooms, including 112 hotels from the US manager Crestline, which it consolidates 100% after purchasing the 60% stake that it did not control from AR Global in April last year. Overall, the group owns 39 of its hotels, leases 57 of them and manages the remaining 133.

In addition, the firm stated that in January, the Mercantile Court of Palma dismissed the claim against Barceló filed by the bankruptcy administration of Orizonia, which amounted to €59.6 million. In a letter, the Co-Presidents, Simón Barceló Tous and Simón Pedro Barceló highlighted the “record” results obtained both in terms of EBITDA and net profit, with double-digit growth in both parameters as well as in turnover, all as a result of its ordinary activity.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake