23/03/2009

The different companies and business areas that comprise the Hotusa Group generated a business turnover of over 748.8 million euros in 2008, representing an increase of 5% compared to the 714.2 million euros registered the year previously. The company estimates it will close the financial year with a similar increase in profits.

The Hotusa Group chairman, Amancio López Seijas, declared that he was “satisfied with the figures presented, particularly because of the complicated economic context that we are experiencing, which has had a notable impact in a large part of the businesses in this sector”. López attributes the 2008 figures to “the solidity of our business project, in addition to the internationalization and diversification of our lines of business”.

The hotel division, of which the Eurostars Hotels chain forms part, continues to be at the forefront of the company’s global turnover, contributing close to 220 million euros, with a notable increase of 10% in turnover compared to the previous year. Approximately 50% of the sales from this division have been generated by the chain’s hotels abroad, which is proof in itself of the success of the internationalization process that the company has always supported and which attenuates the fall in growth experienced in Spain.

Over the past financial year, the hotel division added a total of 11 establishments to its portfolio. In 2009, the Eurostars Madrid Tower Hotel 5* started to function; a spectacular establishment with 474 guest rooms set in one of the skyscrapers in the Cuatro Torres Business Area of Madrid, as has, likewise, the Eurostars Lex, a small business hotel with 46 rooms next to the Barcelona and Hospitalet-located City of Justice. In the months to come, two new establishments are slotted for opening, signifying the debut of the chain in Munich (Eurostars Grand Central 4*) and Budapest (Eurostars Budapest Center 4*).

Internationalization has also placed a key role in the results of the Group’s tourist division – formed by Hotusa Hotels, Keytel, Restel and Hotelius.com, amongst others - with a turnover of 529.5 million euros, i.e. 3% more than the previous year.

It is worth noting that during the first three months of the year both Hotusa Hotels and Keytel have significantly enlarged their portfolios of associated hotels, inasmuch as their offer of services gains particular interest amongst independent hotels in an economic scenario as adverse as the current situation. As a reference, in January and February, Hotusa Hotels have incorporated 82 new associated hotels, which represent an increase of more than 115% in comparison with the 38 associated members registered in the first few months of the year 2008.