CDL hotel chain looks for ways to spend $100m

New Zealand's largest hotel chain, CDL, is sitting on close to $100 million of cash following last year's asset sales in Australia and industry sources say a capital return to shareholders is among options being considered for the money.

Options also include investment in more hotels here or in Australia.

CDL Hotels has a portfolio of 30 hotels in New Zealand which are owned, leased, franchised or managed under the Millennium, Copthorne and Kingsgate brands.

On Friday the company posted a 36.1 per cent rise in full-year net profit to $23.2 million, up from $17.03 million for the year ended December 31.

Total operating revenue was $166.5 million, down from $168.3 million. CDL said the drop was mainly due to a fall in revenue at CDL Investments, in which it has a 61 per cent stake.

CDL Investments posted a net profit of $8.5 million for the year ended December 31, up from $6.6 million for the same period the previous year.

Managing director Tsang Jat Meng said the growth in hotels' revenue - to $123 million, from $121 million in 2003 - came from increases in occupancy and yield.

"This was the first time that annual occupancy has broken the 70 per cent barrier," he said in a statement.

Tsang said he expected 2005 to be another positive year.

CDL Hotels New Zealand is a subsidiary of Millennium & Copthorne which operates hotels in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa and the United States.