Hotel giant swings to profit

Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels (0045) swung to a net profit of HK$146 million last year after three years of losses and restarted a dividend payout with a final dividend of 8 HK cents.

This recovery was mainly attributed to China's border reopening last February, and demand from mainlanders and locals supported the recovery of its business in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. Its Peninsula Hotels' revenue in these cities jumped by 51 percent, 54 percent and 63 percent to HK$1.04 billion, HK$460 million and HK$328 million respectively.

Total revenue was HK$8.11 billion, but the operator said its performance hasn't reached pre-pandemic levels due to a decline in the number of Western foreign tourists following the Covid pandemic.

Non-hotel properties and other businesses also recorded improvements year-on-year.

Repulse Bay Complex, the group's largest commercial property, earned HK$556 million last year, 5 percent higher than in 2022.

The flats in the Repulse Bay also saw a bounce back in letting rate, thanks to more foreign tenants returning to Hong Kong, and the company is looking forward to further increase in demand in the coming year.

The company also predicts that business in Tokyo and Paris will keep rising.

It said that European and American travelers are not yet coming back to the region due to geopolitical tensions.

Last year, the group opened two new Peninsula Hotels in London and Istanbul.