LONDON (Alliance News) - Budget hotel operator easyHotel PLC on Wednesday said it will pay a maiden final dividend after its system sales and pretax profit both increased in the company's last financial year.
The company said its pretax profit for the year to the end of September rose 38% year-on-year to GBP790,000, up from GBP570,000 a year earlier, as total system sales, the full amount paid by a customer for the firm's owned and franchised hotels, up to GBP20.0 million from GBP17.3 million.
easyHotel said it would pay a maiden final dividend of 0.33 pence per share, the first dividend it has paid out.
The company said it now has 21 hotels in 14 cities across eight countries, offering a total of 1,880 rooms, up from 1,606 at the end of its previous financial year. Owned hotel rooms rose to 390, up 103 over the course of the year, following the opening of its hotel in Croydon in south London.
"easyHotel continued to perform in line with board expectations in 2015, demonstrating the strength of the business model, the brand and demand for simple comfort at super budget prices in great locations," said Guy Parsons, the former Travelodge chief executive who took the helm of the company in August.
Shares in easyHotel were up 11% to 71.00 pence on Wednesday morning, one of the best performers in the AIM All-Share.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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