TSOGO Sun Hotels expects higher revenue for the six months ended September as Covid-19 disruption eased off and room sales increased to pre-Covid levels.
It said yesterday that revenue was expected to be between R895 million and R1.025 billion, which was between R560m and R690m higher than revenue of R335m in the prior comparative period.
Tsogo Sun operates a portfolio of more than 100 hotels in South Africa, Africa, Seychelles and the Middle East.
It said the overall improvement in trading compared to the prior comparative period was due to the extended hard lockdowns between April and June 2020, during which time the only revenue generated by the group was from Covid-19 quarantine-related business.
The group said it had also seen system-wide room sales in September 2021 increasing to 48 percent of pre-Covid levels achieved in September 2019.
Earnings per share were forecast to be a loss per share of between 12.2 cents and 9.8c - an increase of between 24 percent and 39 percent - compared to the prior comparative period loss per share of 16.2c, while headline loss per share was expected to be between 12.2c and 9.8c, an improvement of between 70 percent and 76 percent, compared to the prior comparative period.
Tsogo said the six-month period under review was negatively impacted by the severe third wave of Covid-19 infections during June and July 2021. General fear among travellers of contracting the highly contagious Delta variant knocked trading in all regions, setting the group’s recovery back significantly.
Simultaneously, violent protests and civil unrest erupted in Gauteng but most materially for the group in KwaZulu-Natal, which had been the group’s best performing region throughout the pandemic. Tsogo had suffered no property damage as a result of the protests, it said.
“Despite these setbacks, the group was able to secure rights as the sole accommodation provider for the Castle Lager Lions Series tour to South Africa, the timing of which was ideal as it offset some of the revenue shortfall in July 2021,” it said.
philippa.larkin@inl.co.za
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE