Minor developing 3 Phuket projects
MINOR International (MINT), a hotel and restaurant operator listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, expects consolidated annual core revenue growth of between 15 and 20 per cent this year, its founder and chairman William Heinecke has said.
“We’re looking at about 15-20 per cent growth at both top and bottom lines,” he said.
The company is developing three new projects in Phuket with total economic value of more than Bt9 billion.
He said he was pretty optimistic about the outlook for the group this year because of the company’s strong financial performance in the first quarter. Another positive factor is that Thailand’s politics and economy have become much more stable when looking from outside in.
“Overall I’ll have to say I’m bullish on this year,” he said.
MINT made record-high first-quarter core net profit of Bt1.924 billion, an increase of 17 per cent from Bt1.643 billion in the same period last year. The company says this profit growth was attributable to the strong operational performance of both Minor Hotels and Minor Food, whose multi-brand portfolios, geographical diversification and business agility made them resilient and led to a swift rebound in performance after the national mourning period in Thailand during the fourth quarter of 2016.
MINT three’s core businesses comprise restaurants, hospitality and the distribution of “lifestyle” brands. The international and domestic markets currently contribute revenue to the group on a 50:50 basis.
Heinecke said he was bullish on finding new investment opportunities for the food and retail businesses in Thailand and overseas. For the overseas food business, MINT will look for opportunities in Europe and Africa, two regions where it has yet to have a meaningful food business but only a hotel business.
Yesterday MINT announced that it was launching three new projects in Phuket with a total economic value exceeding Bt9 billion.
The new investments comprise an ultra-luxury residential development, a new development phase of Anantara Vacation Club (AVC) and a mixed-use retail and commercial building.
For the first out the three projects, MINT plans a second luxury residential project with total sales value of about Bt6 billion, through a 50:50 joint venture with Kajima Overseas Asia, a unit of Kajima Corporation, a construction and real-estate development company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
This new luxury residential project, Avadina Hills by Anantara, is being developed on about 99 rai (15.8 hectares) adjacent to MINT’s Anantara Layan Phuket Resort and The Residences by Anantara, Layan, Phuket.
The Avadina Hills by Anantara will consist of 16 luxury villas for sale, divided into two phases. The first phase, comprising 11 villas, is currently under construction and expected to be completed next year. The second phase will begin construction after completion of the first phase and is expected to be ready from 2020.
In addition, part of the 99-rai plot will be leased to Anantara Layan Phuket Hotel to develop new tennis, and gym and spa facilities for use of guests of both the hotel and the residences, while the remaining land can be used for future development under the partnership.
MINT is also developing 97 newly designed Anantara Vacation Club luxury apartments and pool villas on a new 20-rai area adjacent to the existing Anantara Vacation Club Mai Khao project at an estimated real-estate value of Bt3 billion, which can subsequently be converted into higher-value AVC points. The new units are expected to be completed next year.
For the third project, MINT plans to expand its Turtle Village shopping mall. Scheduled to open in 2019, the new block adjacent to the current mall will be a three-storey mixed-use building with approximately 1,270 square metres of retail space and 534sqm of office space, with the entire office space already fully booked on long-term lease commitments.
MINT says it is confident that the expansion will complement and strengthen the attractiveness of the Turtle Village shopping complex, with its strategic location surrounded by multiple hotels, resorts and vacation clubs, including Minor Hotels’ own Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas, Anantara Vacation Club Mai Khao Phuket and the new development phase of AVC.
“With its reputation as one of the world’s best-known holiday destinations together with improving new infrastructure including the new international and domestic airport terminals on the island, Phuket will draw domestic and foreign travelers for many years to come,” Heinecke said. “Last year’s tourist-arrival growth of 18 per cent was even stronger than the 13 per cent [in] the prior year. Our confidence in the future of Phuket compels us to launch these three new projects.”
