CENTEL profit surge — Q1 earnings leap 186% to 2.14bn baht

Central Plaza Hotel Public Company Limited, or CENTEL, reported a net profit of 2.143 billion baht for the first quarter of 2026, up 186% from the same period last year, driven by its investment-recycling strategy and the sale of assets held by its joint venture Centara Osaka Tokutei Mokutei Kaisha.

Gun Srisompong, chief financial officer and vice president of finance and administration at CENTEL, said the company recorded total revenue from its hotel and food businesses of 6.975 billion baht in the first quarter, an increase of 3% year on year. Hotel operations accounted for 54% of revenue, while the food business contributed 46%. 

Gun said net profit rose to 2.143 billion baht, mainly due to the disposal of assets by the joint venture Centara Osaka Tokutei Mokutei Kaisha on March 27, 2026, in line with CENTEL’s strategy of rotating investment capital.

The earnings improvement was also supported by more efficient overall cost management in the food business and stronger performances from hotels that had completed renovations, including Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya and Centara Karon Resort Phuket.

The company also saw a significant improvement in the performance of Centara Mirage Lagoon Maldives, while Centara Grand Lagoon Maldives, which began operations in April 2025, continued to show steady improvement.

Hotel revenue rises 5%

Looking only at hotel-business revenue in the first quarter of 2026, CENTEL recorded 3.754 billion baht, up 5% year on year.

The hotel business posted net profit of 1.911 billion baht, up 222%, while average revenue per available room, or RevPAR, stood at 5,359 baht per room per night, an increase of 6%.

The average occupancy rate rose to 78%.

Maldives hotels lead growth

A key highlight was the strong performance of hotels in the Maldives, especially Centara Mirage Lagoon Maldives, which improved during its ramp-up period.

This helped lift overall RevPAR for CENTEL’s Maldives hotels to 12,851 baht per room per night, up 43%, with average occupancy reaching 75%, an increase of 11 percentage points.

However, the company’s hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was affected by unrest in the Middle East that erupted in late February 2026.

Centara Mirage Beach Resort Dubai recorded RevPAR of 4,562 baht per room per night, down 27%, while average occupancy stood at 63%, a decline of 20 percentage points.

The hotel remained open throughout the period and did not suffer any physical damage.

90 hotels under management

As of the end of the first quarter of 2026, CENTEL had 90 hotels under management, with a total of 19,529 rooms.

Of these, 52 hotels, with 11,179 rooms, were already in operation, while 38 hotels, with 8,350 rooms, were under development.

Among the 52 operating hotels, 22 hotels, with 5,827 rooms, were owned by the company, while 30 hotels, with 5,352 rooms, were operated under management contracts.

CENTEL and OR form budget-hotel joint venture

Another key development came in February 2026, when CENTEL’s board of directors approved the establishment of a joint venture between the company or its subsidiary and PTT Oil and Retail Business Public Company Limited, or OR.

Under the joint-venture structure, CENTEL will hold 51% of the registered capital, while OR will hold 49%.

The joint venture aims to develop and operate budget hotels as part of CENTEL’s growth strategy.

CENTEL said developing budget hotels with OR would help the company reach new customer segments, strengthen its business model and support sustainable long-term growth.