Upgraded hotels boost Gooderson

GOODERSON Leisure’s headline earnings per share rose 55% to 1.18c in the six months to August, boosted by recently acquired and upgraded hotels now performing better.

GOODERSON Leisure Corporation’s headline earnings per share rose 55% to 1.18c in the six months to August, boosted by recently acquired hotels that the group had upgraded and are now performing better.

The AltX-listed hotel and leisure group achieved 14% revenue growth to R56m for the period, and operating profit improved 21% to R6.3m.

Executive chairman Alan Gooderson said yesterday the four hotels the group had bought in the past four years had initially struggled, although following various upgrades “we are beginning to turn them around properly now”. Mr Gooderson said the group’s occupancy rates were increasing, and food and beverage operations were performing well.

While the group does not report occupancy figures in its midyear results, as its occupancy numbers are heavily skewed towards the second half of the year, he said that “we are a good 10% up on our occupancies”.

Although trading conditions were expected to remain fairly tough for the remainder of the year and in the next financial year, “we think things will get substantially better in 2015”, he said.

The group is upgrading many of its properties and introducing entertainment elements such as bird parks, swimming pools, cycle tracks and BMX tracks.

The group’s model incorporates time-share, self-catering and hotel rooms. “The model is working very well; the time-share section is doing extremely well, and the functions business has picked up considerably,” Mr Gooderson said.

The group has proceeded with a R20m expansion at Monks Cowl Golf Resort in Central Drakensberg, which it bought last year. So far 18 new rooms have been constructed and others upgraded.

Mr Gooderson said the group was “well positioned to accelerate growth once the economy begins to show positive signs”.