Hungarian hotels group Danubius Hotels posted HUF 2.29bn (EUR 7.72m) in pre-tax losses in the fourth quarter of 2008, to a large part due to financial losses, the company said in its unaudited consolidated IRFS report on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange on Monday.
Fourth-quarter pre-tax losses rose 58pc from a year earlier as financial losses rose more than five-fold to HUF 2.15bn. Foreign exchange losses, most of them unrealised, totaled HUF 1.6bn in the quarter. Operating losses dropped 82pc yr/yr to HUF 169m in the fourth quarter.
For the full year of 208, Danubius had pre-tax losses of HUF 197m, compared to HUF 1.77bn pre-tax profits in 2007, as operating profit fell 53pc to HUF 1.37bn and financial losses rose 39pc to HUF 1.49bn last year.
The company noted that HUF 1.81bn in interest payments represented its largest financial loss last year.
The company posted EBITDA of HUF 6bn in 2008, down 21pc from 2007. Q4 EBITDA rose, however, sharply, to HUF 1.03bn from 307m a year earlier.
Revenue rose 1pc yr/yr in Q4 to HUF 1pc to HUF 11.27bn, and was full-year revenue was unchanged at HUF 47.17bn.
Danubius Group revenue from hotels declined 2pc to HUF 21.81bn in 2008. Catering revenues were unchanged at HUF 15bn and revenue from spa services rose 5pc to HUF 6.2bn.
The group’s hotels in Hungary sustained pre-tax losses of HUF 1.74bn in 2008, double that recorded the previous year.
The group’s hotels in the Czech Republic posted pre-tax profit of HUF 857m last year, up 22pc yr/yr. Danubius’ hotels in Slovakia posted pre-tax profit of HUF 264m in 2008, compared to losses of HUF 290m in 2007, and its hotels Romania recorded pre-tax profit of HUF 417m last year, up 13pc yr/yr.
Danubius spent HUF 5.48bn on developments last year, 50pc more than in 2007.
Net assets rose 3pc in twelve months to HUF 52.74bn at the end of 2008.