The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels' (0045) interim net profit dropped by 30 percent to HK$94 million from a year earlier, though The Peninsula Hong Kong's occupancy rate and average room rate both rose in the second quarter.

The owner of The Peninsula Hotels said its flagship hotel in the city saw its occupancy rate rise 5 percentage points to 44 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter.

However, it was still far below the pre-pandemic level of 60 to 70 percent in 2019.

And the average room rate at Peninsula Hong Kong, which measures the average rental revenue earned for an occupied room per day, jumped 10 percent to HK$6,097 quarter on quarter.

The hotel group did not declare an interim dividend this time but said it would consider resuming paying dividends at the end of the year.

Total revenue for the first six months increased 47 percent to HK$2.45 billion from a year ago.

The businesses in Hong Kong, where the majority of the group's earnings come from, have not yet fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels with fewer European and US visitors coming to the city, said its chief executive Clement Kwok King-man.

But Kwok noted the second half of the year is historically the peak season for the hotel industry in the city and the occupancy rate is expected to be better than that of the first half.

Kwok added that the group is also strengthening connections with its mainland customers and has been trying to attract visitors from the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

On future capital expenditure in the city, the group said it is reviewing the plan to upgrade the retail and dining offering at the Peak Tower in the coming one to two years.

The overall financial position remains stable, the group said, with net debt to total assets at an acceptable level of 28 percent.

Shares of Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels edged down 0.9 percent yesterday after the release of its financial results.

Separately, the group announced that Christobelle Liao Yi-ching has been named as an executive director and the chief corporate and governance officer with immediate effect.

The hotel’s occupancy rate rose to 44 percent. Sing Tao

Business yet to recover, says Peninsula owner