Doyle hotel chain profits more than double due to one-off gain

The Irish-owned Doyle Collection hotel group more than doubled its profits last year as a result of a €10.8 million "curtailment gain" from changes to the funding of its defined benefit pension schemes.

Latest accounts for Doyle Hotels (Holdings) Ltd show that the company made a pretax profit of €21.6 million in 2014, up from €9.2 million a year earlier.

Its turnover from continuing operations rose 3.7 per cent to €112.4 million. The accounts note the company achieved net proceeds of €108.8 million in 2013 from the sale of three hotels in the US – the Back Bay in Boston, and the Normandy and Courtyard properties in Washington DC.

Revaluation

A revaluation of investment properties last year by CBRE generated a surplus of €1.8 million relating to the valuation of the Westbury Mall in central Dublin and a car park adjacent to its Bristol Hotel.

The Doyle Collection’s interest bill reduced marginally to €10.2 million while the group closed the year with net debt of €197.4 million. Its bank loans totalled €229.6 million at the end of 2014 and are due to be repaid by November 2017.

The group told The Irish Times its performance had been "strong" in each of its hotels in the current year and its underlying profit would "certainly be up on 2014", aided by the strength of the dollar and sterling. It made a currency gain of €21.4 million last year.

"The positive momentum we experienced last year has continued into 2015, with strong underlying performance across the five cities in which we operate," Pat King, chief executive of the Doyle Collection, said.

Strong performers

Mr King said its hotels in Dublin and Cork have been “strong performers” this year, “reflecting the benefit of capital expenditure in each hotel and the improving economy”.

The Doyle Collection comprises eight hotels in Ireland and Britain – including the five-star Westbury in Dublin – and is owned by members of the Doyle and Beatty families.The group is spending €10 million on upgrading its hotels this year.

Its accounts show its wages and salaries rose €1.1 million to €33.9 million last year while its average employee headcount rose by 14 to 1,115. The company said the increase in payroll was due to currency exchange rates, with a significant number of staff employed at its hotels in London, Bristol and Washington DC.