The group announced a “solid” 2017 and “excellent progress” on its five-year plan, with growth in sales by 4.0% on a comparable basis.

The operator of the Radisson, Park Inn, Quorvus Collection and prizeotel brands reports that this growth is supported by a RevPAR up by 4.8%. Revenue increased by 0.6% to €967.3 million, EBITDA increased by 3.5% to €82.1 million and EBITDA margin increased by 0.2 percentage points to 8.5%. Nonetheless, optimism dropped, and with it profit dropped from 83.3% to €4.4 million. The Board of Directors proposed that no dividend is to be paid for the year, although the current dividend policy remains unchanged.

"We report solid 2017 results, growing like-for-like revenue with MEUR 38.3 (4.0%), supported by a RevPAR growth of 4.8%, driven by the strong performance in Eastern Europe and the good development in Rest of Western Europe and the Nordics.” commented Federico González-Tejera, President and CEO.

“During 2017, we have made significant progress developing our 5-year operating plan – a comprehensive strategy which is aligned with our partner Radisson Hospitality, Inc. (former Carlson Hotels). [...] In 2018, we have started to implement the plan and we are making excellent progress towards the goals set, making a major effort in brands and experience implementation, in repositioning our hotels, in revenue management and in information systems,” he adds.

A transition year

A total of 7,476 rooms were contracted, compared to 8,200 a year earlier, i.e. 5,039 rooms opened and 4,195 rooms left the system.

The group enjoyed sustained activity in Northern Europe (+4.7%) with improved rates in Finland (+10.3%) and Norway (+8.5%); in Europe (+5.6%) with Belgium (+14.3%), but also in Eastern Europe (+10.8%) with Estonia at the top of the list (15.8%), and in Africa (+37.9% in the North and +4.6% in the South). However, France (-6.3%) and the Middle East (-5.6%) recorded a significant decrease.