Orient-Express Hotels Announces First-Quarter Upshots

Orient-Express Hotels Ltd., investor in 49 deluxe hotel, restaurant, tourist train and river cruise properties in 25 countries, today announced its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2005.

The net loss for the period was $1.6 million (loss of $0.04 per common share) on revenue of $82.2 million, compared with a net loss of $4.6 million ($0.13 per common share) on revenue of $66.1 million in the prior year period. The earnings improvement was 65 percent, the earnings per common share improvement was 70% and the revenue improvement was 25 percent.

The first quarter is a traditional loss-making period because a number of the company´s properties are closed for the winter, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train does not operate and tourist arrivals are low in locations with poor winter weather. In addition, in this year´s first quarter the Miraflores Park Hotel in Lima, Peru and La Residencia in Majorca, Spain were closed for most of the time for major works.

Mr James B Sherwood, Oriental´s Chairman, said the improved results were very encouraging and presaged a good outcome for the year. "Even though the Grand Hotel Europe in St Petersburg was only owned by the company for a few weeks in the quarter it contributed $1.2 million to the period´s EBITDA for Europe.

"We continue to feel that Europe´s results on a same store basis will be flat this year due to the strength of the euro and British pound, but the slack will be more than taken up by the rest of the world and the Grand Hotel Europe where dollar weakness is not so pronounced.

"Our exciting new developments this year will be the re-opening of the Caruso Belvedere Hotel in Ravello, Italy this summer and our property development called Cupecoy Village in St Martin. We have already pre-sold 20% of the units on the strength of a model condominium" he said.