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FOOD & HOTELS
CHADAMAS CHINMANEEVONG
Pratana: Confident of achieving target |
Minor International Plc (MINT) expects its earnings in the second half of this year will grow by 20% thanks to stronger hotel revenues in the fourth quarter.
Falling oil and food costs, plus easing political tensions, should also support operations, said chief financial officer Pratana Manomaiphiboon.
She said the company was confident of achieving its target of 15% revenue growth and 20% net profit growth.
MINT reported a second-quarter net profit of 351 million baht, up from 230 million in the same period last year, on revenues of 3.8 billion baht, up from 3.1 billion. First-half net profit rose to 1.1 billion baht from 681 million a year earlier, and revenue rose to 8.2 billion baht from 6.8 billion.
The hospitality business contributed 815 million baht in profit, food services 198 million baht, and residential property the rest.
MINT has set a budget of 17.6 billion baht for investment plans in the next five years. The budget allocates 6.1 billion baht to restaurant businesses, 8.5 billion baht to hotels, and three billion baht to the residential segment.
''We still have five billion baht for new opportunities,'' Mrs Pratana said.
In the food business, MINT expects its restaurant outlets in Thailand and abroad will increase to 1,700 in 2010, from 964 now. It aims to open between 50 and 70 new outlets in the rest of this year, including three new The Coffee Club outlets in Thailand. Recently, it signed a 10-year franchise agreement for The Pizza Company and Swensen's in India.
''In the second quarter, The Pizza Company's average same-store sales dropped 7.2% because promotion and pricing strategies didn't work. This was the first-ever [decline] for the brand,'' she said.
Mrs Pratana acknowledged that same-store sales continued to drop 2% year-on-year in July, but had turned around in August thanks to new promotions.
Same-store sales for all MINT restaurants, including Burger King, Dairy Queen and Sizzler, rose 6.2% in the first half, with total store sales up 18.4%.
In the hotel sector, MINT plans to add 657 new hotel rooms to its portfolio with a total investment budget of 8.5 billion baht in 2010. The company operates hotels under the Four Seasons, Anantara, Marriott and Naadhu brands.
By 2010, MINT's hotel portfolio will rise to 4,296 rooms from 2,700 now, including rooms managed under contract. The company will open the Anantara Phuket within the next two months with 83 pool villas as well as a new hotel and residence in Bangkok under Anantara by the end of the year. The 80-villa Anantara at Baa Atoll in the Maldives will be opened in October 2009, increasing its Maldives properties to four.
''Luxury hotels have seen occupancy affected by new competition, but we have hotels both locally and abroad. This will offset the impact if one market is down,'' Mrs Pratana said.
For the first half, occupancy rates across MINT's hotels averaged 72.1%, down 0.4 percentage points from the same period last year but outpacing the 62.1% average for the industry. Average daily room rates for MINT's hotels were up by a strong 18% year-on-year at 6,408 baht, compared with 5% growth to 1,540 baht for the Thai hotel industry.
MINT shares closed yesterday on the SET at 14 baht, down 20 satang, in trade worth 52.58 million baht.
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