Harbour Centre lifts profit

HARBOUR Centre Development, the hotel arm of Wharf (Holdings), has announced a 37.24 per cent rise in profit attributable to shareholders to $60.8 million for the six months ended June 30.

The company, which saw a 7.8 per cent fall in profit to $127 million for the year ended December 31, improved its results by focusing on improving room rates while maintaining occupancy.

The previous losses were the result of bad economic conditions in the United States, where it has two hotels, and because of $4.3 million spent in an abortive attempt launched by Wharf (Holdings) to privatise the company.

Turnover rose 30.96 per cent to $589.2 million from $449.9 million for the six months ended June 30.

Earnings per share rose to 19 cents from 14 cents.

Directors declared an interim dividend of seven cents per share. The interim dividend will be payable on September 30 to shareholders on record as at September 23.

The Estimates Directory forecasts that the company's profits will be $161 million and $202 million in 1994 and 1995 respectively. Earnings per share is forecast to reach 51 cents for this year and 64 cents next year.

It has forecast dividends of 43 cents per share this year and 50 cents per share next year.

According to the Estimates Directory, the prospective price earnings for this year will be 22.5 and 18 for next year, compared with the market price-earnings of 27.28. The historical price earnings based on company profits of $127 million for the year ended December 1993 is 28.7.

Wilson Chan, secretary of the board, said during the period under review, group hotels in Hong Kong achieved encouraging results in both revenue and operating profits.

The group's hotels in the US recorded satisfactory improvements in performance, he said.

Mr Chan said the commercial section in The Omni Hongkong Hotel would benefit from the completion of the conversion work of the Ocean Theatre into a mini theatre and restaurant.

In the previous year, the group's results were affected by conversion work although the commercial section of The Omni Hong Kong Hotel remained fully let.

The group would continue to explore acquisition opportunities in major economies around the world to broaden its assets and earnings base, Mr Chan said.

Neither the company nor any of its subsidiaries had purchased, sold or redeemed any of its listed securities during the period under review.

In November last year, the company announced that it had reached an agreement in principle regarding the appointment of a manager to manage a hotel known as Omni Chicago.

The new name of the 347-suite hotel, located in a mixed-use property called City Place, is The Omni World Centre.