NH Hotels earned 61.2 million euros between January and September

Spanish group NH Hotels netted 61.2 million euros over the first nine months of the ongoing year for a 3.5% increase compared to the same period in 2001, sources from the hotel chain reported in a press release.

Profits reached 653.8 million euros (17.5 percent more), while revenues before tax deduction, hedges and depreciation (EBITAD is the acronym in Spanish) peaked 153.8 million euros, 7 percent less than in the same span of time the year before.

The assessment –the company explained- is the result of an EBITAD deduction in comparable hotels against the least margin of new openings, the cost of trademark changes for hotels in Europe and Mexico, the highest operational costs for NH Mexico and real-estate moves in Sotogrande.

The Spain-based hotel company believes the growth in revenues stems from the purchase of Astron hotels coupled with contributions made by NH Mexico, an affiliate that didn’t go strong in the first half of 2001. NH Hotels also reaped 4.4 million euros in extraordinary benefits from the resulting surplus collected in a Sale & Lease-back operation of four hotels in Spain in February 2002.

Establishments in Latin America chipped in 8 percent of the total earning tally with a 6.8% EBITAD deduction. Especially those hotels in the MERCOSUR area went back in the black in the third quarter of the year.