Paris – 22 February 2017 –
AccorHotels reports a forecast-beating 3.8 percent rise in operating profit for last year, helped by restructuring efforts and robust demand in most markets.
The company said earnings for its core, domestic market had been impacted as a result of weak demand following a spate of deadly, Islamist militant attacks in France, although the French market had started to recover in the fourth quarter, Reuters reports.
AccorHotels, which has more than 4,000 hotels ranging from the budget Ibis to the luxury Sofitel brand, is undergoing a reorganisation under chief executive Sebastien Bazin, who took over in August 2013.
The overhaul has entailed cutting costs, expanding in China and strengthening its presence in the luxury hotels market, with the acquisition of FRHI Holdings, owner of prestigious hotels including London’s Savoy and New York’s Plaza.
AccorHotels has also struck several deals to strengthen its online and internet offerings.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to 696 million euros (US$732 million) in 2016.
Business was very challenging in Paris where a key measure of revPar fell 13.2 percent, although hotel demand outside the French capital was stronger.
In the Paris region alone, hotel owners welcomed 1.5 million fewer tourists in 2016 compared to 2015, costing local tourism 1.3 billion euros in lost revenue, the regional tourism committee said this week.