All-around performance boosts Mint's 1st half revenue by 10%

Restaurant and hotel businesses accounted for 43 per cent of total revenue and mixed-use for 47 per cent. Retail trading and contract manufacturing contributed 10 per cent.

First-half net profit rose 19 per cent to Bt1.84 billion from Bt1.5 billion in the first half of last year.

The company said in a statement that its hospitality business – which operates company-owned resorts, manages resorts and serviced suites for others, sells residential properties and operates a vacation club – achieved an increase of 16 per cent in both second-quarter and first-half net profit.

This was despite the temporary closure of the Anantara Bophut Samui Resort and Spa, Anantara Veli Resort and Spa in Maldives and Royal Garden Plaza Bangkok for renovation this April and the permanent closure of the Hua Hin Marriott Resort and Spa in July last year.

The business also suffered from the strengthening of the baht in first four months of this year. But as tourist arrivals revived, its own hotels, which contributed 46 per cent of total hospitality revenue in the first half, saw organic occupancy improve by 7 percentage points.

“We expect the hospitality business to continue to perform well in the second half of 2013 with the continued momentum of the performance of the company-owned hotels portfolio, managed hotels and the expansion plans,” it said.

The restaurant business also posted robust net-profit growth of 17 per cent in the second quarter and 21 per cent in the first half on strong organic operations as well as the consolidation of the Beijing Riverside and Courtyard in China. Though same-store sales were up only 2.6 per cent in the first half, total sales surged 13.8 per cent thanks to store expansion. 

All brands except The Pizza Company reported same-store-sales growth of 3.9 per cent. 

The opening of restaurants alongside expansion of major retail operators, together with continued growth of the company’s franchised business, was expected to contribute to strong performance of the restaurant business in the rest of this year.

The company plans to grow through expansion in both businesses.

Last month, it acquired Cypress Lakes Resort in Hunter Valley, New South Wales, through Oaks. Earlier, it said it would acquire half of the luxury boutique hotel brand Per Aquum Retreats Resorts Residences, which manages three award-winning properties – two in Maldives, Huvafen Fushi and Niyama, and Desert Palm in Dubai. 

The five restaurants under the Burger King, Swensen’s, The Coffee Club and Thai Express brands in Maldives have taken off with sales well above expectation. The plan to add two restaurants under Burger King and The Coffee Club next month is still on schedule. 

The company has also entered a partnership with Al Nasser Holdings to expand its restaurant business of owning, operating and franchising restaurant brands in the Middle East and North Africa, with the initial plan to open The Coffee Club outlets in the United Arab Emirates.