SINGAPORE (Mar 1): Hotel Royal posted a 92.5% decline in fourth quarter earnings to $0.2 million in 4Q17 compared to its earnings of $2.9 million in 4Q16 on the back of higher operating expenses.
Revenue for quarter grew by 2.6% to $15.5 million from $15.1 million previously, due to higher room revenue and higher food & beverage revenue in Hotel Royal Bangkok @ Chinatown.
Cost of sales however grew 28.4% to $9.4 million from $7.3 million previously due to higher costs in Hotel Royal Bangkok @ Chinatown.
The group’s bottomline was further dragged down by a 72.5% increase in other expenses to $2.9 million from $1.7 million a year ago due to an impairment loss on leasehold land and building, which was partially offset by lower impairment loss on available-for-sale investments resulting from stronger stock market conditions.
Finance costs edged up 4% to $1.2 million from $1.1 million on the back of higher interest rates over 4Q.
Nonetheless, administrative expenses for the quarter fell 41.4% to $1.2 million from $2.1 million on lower overheads.
For the full year ended Dec 2017, Hotel Royal booked earnings of $7.6 million, which is 2.1% lower than the $7.7 million reported in FY16.
A first and final dividend of 5 cents has been declared.
Looking ahead, the group expects to meet more challenges despite positive tourism & hospitality sector growth prospects, and says it will continue to monitor its room occupancy and room rates; enhance its customer experiences; upgrade its hotel properties; and explore more investment opportunities in order to maximise shareholder income and enlarge market share.
Shares in Hotel Royal closed 1 cent higher at $4.03 on Thursday.
