SET-listed Central Plaza Hotel Plc (Centel) has announced an all-time high in profitability and an annual cash dividend for shareholders.
At its annual general meeting, shareholders passed a resolution for an annual cash dividend for company common stock of 0.65 baht per share. The dividend is payable on May 24, 2019 to shareholders at the close of business on May 7.
For 2018, Centel achieved total revenue of 21.8 billion baht, an increase of 7% year-on-year, while ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) totalled 4.96 billion baht, an increase of 5.6%.
This increase in revenue and ebitda was due to continued growth at hotels and quick-service restaurants.
As a result, Centel achieved its highest net profit of 2.18 billion baht, an increase of 9.4% year-on-year.
Centel is one of the leading Thai hotel operators with an ubiquitous presence in Thailand, as well as overseas properties.
Centel has 39 hotels with 7,563 rooms in operation in Thailand, Maldives, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Oman. There are 29 hotels with 5,914 rooms under construction in Thailand and overseas, with targeted opening dates during 2019-22.
Of 29 hotels in the pipeline, two are owned investments under the Cosi brand, two are four-star hotels in the Maldives, and one is a four-star joint venture in Dubai.
The other 24 hotels are under management contracts, mostly in the Asean Economic Community, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.
Centel is also a leading quick-service restaurant operator in Thailand, operating KFC, Mister Donut, Auntie Anne's, Ootoya, Pepper Lunch, Cold Stone, Chabuton, Yoshinoya, Tenya, Katsuya and The Terrace.
The company owned a total 1,003 restaurant outlets in Thailand at the end of March.