Unique Hotel's profit drops 20pc in FY24

Unique Hotel & Resorts, the owning company of The Westin Dhaka, has reported a 20 per cent drop in profit for FY24, as there was no extraordinary income from share sales apart from business operation.
The luxury hotel turned in Tk 1.51 billion annual profit in FY24, down from Tk 1.89 billion the previous year.
Accordingly, the company's earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk 5.14, as against Tk 6.42 the previous year, according to its earnings note published on Thursday.
Based on the profit, the board has declared a 16 per cent cash dividend for FY24, as against 20 per cent cash dividend in the year before.
A company official, who declined to be named, said that while the hotel business is performing well, the lack of extraordinary gains this financial year, unlike the previous year, contributed to the decline in profit.
Last year, nearly two-thirds of the annual profit of Tk 1.89 billion came from extraordinary income generated through share sales, in addition to regular business operations, he explained.
In FY23, Unique Hotel achieved strong earnings by selling shares of its subsidiary, Unique Meghnaghat Power, to Qatar-based Nebras Power Investment Management BV, which was recognised as extraordinary income alongside core business operations.
Unique Hotel sold shares worth Tk 4.50 billion to the Qatar-based company, which made the payment in four phases.
The company will hold its annual general meeting on December 19. The record date for entitlement of dividend is set on October 20.
On Thursday, the Unique Hotel's stock price gained 0.56 per cent to close at Tk 53.80.
The net operating cash flow per share, a measure of a company's ability to generate cash from its operations, dropped to Tk 5.13 per share, as against Tk 6.47 the previous year.
The net asset value, which refers to the excess of total assets over total liabilities, reached Tk 88.75 per share as of June this year, up from Tk 88.51 in the previous year.
Unique Hotel and Resorts, listed on the stock exchanges in 2012, runs The Westin Dhaka and Hansa -- a premium residence in the capital.
Unique Hotel and Resorts, one of the leading hotel & hospitality management companies, also owns the five-star Sheraton hotel located in the capital's Banani.
Unique Hotel also holds 35 per cent stake in Sonargaon Economic Zone.

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