PPHE Hotel Group rests easy after 'solid' H1 performance

(Sharecast News) - Hotel owner, operator and franchiser PPHE Hotel Group on Thursday reported a boost in first half revenues after trading improved across several of the company's operating regions.For the six months ended 30 June, reported revenue increased by 5% compared to the previous year, jumping to £148.8m, with normalised profit before tax increasing by 62.4% to £5.1m.EBITDA increased by 1.7% to £40.6m and the firm had cash and cash equivalents of £206.8m at 30 June, down from £241m at 31 December.Boris Ivesha, president and chief executive of PPHE, said: "We are pleased to report a solid first half performance, with further revenue growth and a 45% increase in the interim dividend."The interim dividend has been raised to 16p per share.An influx of visitors to London over the first half of the year benefitted the firm, revenue increases also stemmed from German and Hungarian Hotel performance.Over the period, the AIM traded company started preliminary works on the development of art'otel London Hoxton, completed works on its Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam Hotel and opened Croatia's first all-glamping offer, Arena One 99.Renovation programmes on projects in London and the Netherlands are also underway, with further programmes planned for sites in Germany and Croatia."We remain focused in the second half of the year on the excellent service delivery for which our properties and people are known and on significantly progressing our renovation projects. We continue to expect the full year results to be in line with the board's expectations," said Ivesha.PPHE's shares were up 1.2% at 1,518.00p at 1245 BST.