FAVOURABLE market conditions and a wider earnings base after recent acquisitions saw CDL Hotels International post a 72.6 per cent jump in profit attributable to shareholders last year. The group met market expectations with profits for the year ended December 31 of $387.93 million, compared with $224.76 million in 1993. The result was swelled by an exceptional gain of $90.04 million from the disposal of a stake in Apollo Enterprises. This represented 18.5 per cent of operating profit and 23.2 per cent of profit attributable to shareholders. Turnover surged 71.9 per cent to $2.71 billion. Earnings per share rose 60.1 per cent to 25.45 cents. Directors proposed a final dividend of three cents a share, against two cents in 1993, payable in scrip with cash option. This would bring the total dividends for the year to five cents per share. The register of members will be closed from June 12 to 15, both days inclusive. The retained profit increased 86.7 per cent to $311.43 million. Chairman Kwek Leng Beng said the outstanding results were a reflection of the robust tourism sector in which the group operated, as well as the contribution from recent acquisitions in Britain, New Zealand and the United States. The group controls 35 hotels, with more than 9,000 rooms, in nine countries. Mr Kwek confirmed yesterday the company was finalising a deal to take a 50 per cent stake in Donald Trump's Plaza Hotel in New York, with the remaining stake to be held by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal al-Saud of Saudi Arabia. Mr Kwek said: 'It's a flagship that will put us in a more recognisable position in the world.' The company has obtained permission to convert the upper floor and the rooftop of the hotel into a condominium. The company is set to conclude another deal on a Bangkok hotel by year's end. Asked if the company was planning to slow down its buying spree, Mr Kwek said: '[We're] not planning to. What I can say is that you won't have so many opportunities at rock bottom prices as before. 'Much as we'd like to expand I can see the expansion rate will have to be on a different basis now. 'Acquiring a management company is one possibility of faster expansion. 'To repeat what we have done in the last two three years is not easy.' After a spate of acquisitions, Mr Kwek said the company had established a foothold for entering into a more mature stage.