Central Plaza Hotel Plc (Centel) saw strong net profit in the first quarter of this year, the highest level since the start of the pandemic, thanks to the positive impact of a significant increase in tourist arrivals.
Centel posted a net profit of 629 million baht, compared to a net loss of 44 million baht in the first quarter of last year. Revenue was 5.86 billion baht, an increase of 51% year-on-year.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) was 1.67 billion baht, an increase of 29% year-on-year.
Gun Srisompong, chief financial officer and vice-president for finance and administration at Centel, said the hotel recovery trend is apparent this year, thanks to several positive factors including China reopening earlier than expected.
However, due to a limited number of international flights which was markedly lower than in 2019, the number of Chinese arrivals did not show significant growth in the first three months of this year.
Mr Gun said the recovery of hotel business is still being challenged by several factors: numbers of flights, higher travelling costs, raw material price inflation and an increase in operating expenses, rising financial costs, and the risk of recession.
The company said it continues to operate the business with cautious cost control of both the hotel and food business, including a prepayment plan of US dollar loans, which had higher interest rates than Thai baht loans, in order to mitigate the impact of interest rate hikes.
Additionally, the company plans to issue debentures to increase the fixed interest rate portion.
Centel expects its occupancy rate to be 68-72%, and revenue per available room at 3,350–3,650 baht.
For the food business, the estimated same-store sales (excluding joint ventures) growth ranged from 7-9%, with total-system sales growth of 13-15% in the first quarter of this year.
The company is emphasising sustainability growth with a long-term target plan for 2020-2029 to reduce energy consumption, water usage, waste, and cut the emission of greenhouse gases by 20% compared to 2019.
At the end of 2022, Centel had implemented many projects to become a smart hotel business.
To reduce energy consumption and promote efficient use of energy, such as heat pumps for hot pool jacuzzis, it aims to cut energy use by 2-3 times, and its chiller optimiser project will reduce electricity consumption by 10-15%. Five hotels have already installed the system.
In 2022, 12 hotels of Centara Hotels and Resorts and the headquarters passed the assessment and audit of the world's sustainable tourism standards in the hotel sector from Vireo SRL, an inspection specialist endorsed by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).
The company wants all hotels of Centara Hotels and Resorts to achieve certification from GSTC by 2025.
