Dalata hotel group report 68% fall in revenues

Operators of the Maldron and Clayton preparing for a return of the hospitality sector

Outgoing CEO Pat McCann with the incoming CEO Dermot Crowley of the Dalata Group.

Hotel group Dalata has seen a 68% fall in revenues resulting in an after-tax loss of €110.7m for 2020.

The company also announced that its CEO Pat McCann will step down as CEO to be replaced with deputy CEO Dermot Crowley. McCann, who formerly headed up the Jurys Hotel Group has served as Dalata CEO since founding the company in 2007. Dalata operates the Clayton and Maldron hotel brands across Ireland the UK.

The company said their regional hotels across Ireland had a strong start to 2020, earning revenue of €10.9 million during January and February with occupancy of 49.7% for the first quarter before the first lockdown was imposed.

The resurgence of domestic tourism between July and September resulting in an occupancy rate of 60.2% for regional hotels in that period. Staycations were strong, particularly during July and August.

That same period remained challenging for Dalata's Dublin hotels, with occupancy coming in at 25.9%. This was largely driven by leisure business and weekend demand.

Despite the impact of Covid, the group has increased liquidity with cash of €50m at the end of December and undrawn committed debt facilities of €248m.

"Our cash resources and undrawn debt facilities of €290 million at the end of February 2021 leave us in a great position to withstand any further impact of Covid-19 restrictions in 2021 and participate in the recovery of global tourism," the company said.

Analysts Davy said Dalata’s full-year results reflect the resilience of the business during Covid. "Liquidity and credit positions are sector leading and senior staff at all hotels have been retained. All stakeholders have contributed, leaving the company strongly positioned for the recovery in the sector."