Millennium & Copthorne remains upbeat about prospects for 2015

Millennium & Copthorn Hotels saw fourth quarter pre-tax profit and revenue fall, but remained confident of delivering strong performances in 2015.The hotel operator reported pre-tax profit of £80m for the three months ended 31 December, down from £179m in the corresponding period of 2013.Revenue fell to £229m from £478m, but the group said fourth quarter figures for 2013 had been boosted by the sale of of the Glyndebourne development in Singapore."Our hotel trading results were positive, despite revenue and profit being adversely affected by the strength of the pound sterling, especially during the earlier part of the financial year," said group chairman Kwek Leng Beng.The company said it recommended a final ordinary dividend of 11.51p per share, giving a total ordinary dividend for the year of 13.59p per share.Millennium & Copthorne shares were down 0.96% to 568.50p at 15:49 on Tuesday.