Hotel chain half-yearprofit rises to $11.3m

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand has lifted its June half-year net profit by 6.4 per cent to $11.35 million.

The company said it noticed a downturn in visitor numbers and it would take time for the effects of the lower dollar to come through.

No dividend was declared.

The pre-tax operating profit was $22 million compared with $18.1 million.

New Zealand hotel operations contributed 47 per cent of the profit and both CDL Investments New Zealand and the Australian operations contributed 26.5 per cent. Group revenue and other income rose 31 per cent to $102.5 million.

Total revenue from the New Zealand hotels fell to $64.9 million from $65.1 million with occupancy stable on 71.2 per cent.