The global financial crisis has taken a toll on the financial performance and new projects of luxury hotel operator Mandarin Oriental International, and will continue to cloud its prospects.
Attributable profit excluding one-off gains on disposal and write-back of the impairment of an associate declined 23 per cent to US$67.1 million last year while revenue was barely changed at US$1.01 billion.
Including the one-off items, attributable profit was 38 per cent lower.
Although companies cut travel budgets and tourists tightened their belts as the crisis continued to bite, the group blamed volatile currencies as the major culprit of the profit decline.
Group financial officer John Witt said yesterday that the group's 23-strong portfolio began to feel the pinch from the fourth quarter.
'Visibility is limited,' Mr Witt said of the outlook of the portfolio this year. 'Occupancy will fall in most of our hotels. Forward booking is of very short windows.'
The global credit crunch took a heavy toll on Mandarin Oriental's new projects, cancelling the Dallas venture and delaying four of its 18 projects.
