Accor reports first-half profit

　　PARIS—Accor emphasized its operating efficiency in its first-half results and reported €41 million (US$59.3 million) in net profit.

　　Denis Hennequin, chairman and CEO, said during a conference call Wednesday the company’s performance reflects the efficiency of the business model at all levels and the success of the overall strategy, which includes becoming a pure hotel player.

　　The contract for disposition of Lenôtre to Sodexo for €75 million (US$108.31 million) was announced on 2 August, according to a news release. The sale is expected to close in September.

　　In terms of growth, Hennequin said “we’re very confident we’ll beat our 30,000-room target for the full year.”

　　The company added 13,700 new rooms in 108 hotels during the first half. Of those openings, 78% were under franchise and management contracts.

　　According to Sophie Stabile, CFO, Accor saw a record high 27.9% earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and restructuring or rent costs margin in the upper and midscale divisions during the first half. Pullman and Novotel saw strong improvement. Geographically, France and Brazil were the top gainers in these segments.

　　The economy brands, excluding the U.S. properties, saw record-high occupancy during the first half, according to Stabile.

　　Hennequin said there has been solid summer performance. Accor reported July revenue-per-available-room growth of 7.5% year over year in its upscale and midscale hotels in Europe. Economy hotels in Europe saw 7.7% RevPAR growth. Economy hotels in the U.S. saw 4% RevPAR growth in July.

　　“August appears to be in the same trend confirming the solid summer season,” he said. “We haven’t seen any measurable signs of a slowdown in the recovery at this stage.”

　　View Accor’s first half presentation.(Stacey Mieyal Higgins)