Scandic's Year-End Report 2023 - Good Finish to a Record Year.
Highlights
* Fourth quarter in summary,
* Net sales rose by 3.5 percent to
* Average occupancy rate was 57.9 percent (57.0).
* Average revenue per available room (RevPAR) went up to
* Operating profit totaled
* Adjusted EBITDA was
* Excluding IFRS 16, earnings per share equaled
* Free cash flow was
* Interest-bearing net debt/adjusted EBITDA amounted to 0.6x (0.2x excluding the convertible loan).
*
* Net sales rose by 14.1 percent to
* Average occupancy rate increased to 61.4 percent (57.7).
* Average revenue per available room (RevPAR) went up to
* Operating profit totaled
* Adjusted EBITDA was
* Excluding IFRS 16, earnings per share equaled
* Free cash flow was
* Interest-bearing net debt/adjusted EBITDA amounted to 0.6x (0.2x excluding the convertible loan).
* Events during the period
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Scandic also signed an agreement on
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Events after the reporting date
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CEO'S COMMENTS
Bookings are in line with last year and we have a positive outlook for 2024. With a strong financial position and high ambitions for Scandic, we're now stepping up the pace to grow the hotel portfolio and create even better guest experiences.
A good fourth quarter has concluded yet another record year where we maintained a high pace and achieved new milestones. Scandic has delivered good growth and profitability, and I am proud that guest satisfaction has increased across all markets while at the same time we improved efficiency.
The meeting season this past fall was good with high demand from corporate guests, and with the hotels we've opened in the past years, Scandic has a strong offering. Compared with the same period in 2022, we sold more room nights, and all markets saw increased occupancy rates at higher room rates. Scandic continues to perform slightly better than the overall market, and RevPAR remained at consistently high levels.
Net sales in the fourth quarter increased steadily, and we reported a good result in line with last year, excluding non-recurring items. For the full year, revenues increased to
During the quarter, we did a buyback of about one-third of the convertible bonds. This means a significantly lower dilution of shares in the event of a conversion in
With a strong financial position, we've increased the pace of investment in the hotel portfolio and within digitalization to create even better guest experiences. Our ambition now is to return to a more normal level of investment for renovations and maintenance, about 3 to 4 percent of net sales per year. The implementation of our new cloud-based IT solution (Oracle Hospitality OPERA Cloud) is going according to plan, and we're still aiming to connect all hotels and central functions to the new platform during the first half of 2024. Once the new platform is in place, we expect to capitalize on higher efficiency and make significant improvements to the guest journey where among other things we're making our Scandic Friends loyalty program even more attractive.
During the quarter, we also signed a new lease agreement for a 311-room hotel in Nuremberg.
Our first Scandic Go has now been open for six months, and we're very pleased with how the hotel and brand have been received by guests. We're now gearing up to open another Scandic Go in
To strengthen our offering and optimize growth and profitability, we constantly evaluate which agreements should be extended or terminated. During the quarter, we signed an agreement to extend and rebrand
Bookings are in line with last year and we have a positive outlook for 2024. Because the Easter holiday will fall earlier this year than last year, we expect somewhat lower occupancy for the first quarter compared with 2023 however at continued higher price levels. Scandic is commercially and financially stronger than ever, and we're stepping up the pace to grow our hotel portfolio and to create even better guest experiences. In conclusion, I would like to extend a thank you to all our team members who made this possible and to our guests who choose to stay at our hotels. I look forward to an eventful year.
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About
Scandic is the largest hotel company in the Nordic countries with a network of about 280 hotels with 58,000 rooms in operation and under development, in more than 130 destinations. The company is the leader when it comes to integrating sustainability in all operations and its award-winning Design for All concept ensures that Scandic hotels are accessible to everyone. Well loved by guests and employees, the Scandic Friends loyalty program is the largest in the Nordic hotel industry and the company is one of the most attractive employers in the region. Scandic is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.scandichotelsgroup.com
CFO,
Scandic
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