Scandic Hotels revenues increased by 10%

The Scandic Hotels Group has reported its results. During the first half of 2012, revenues increased by 10% and operating profits increased by 30% compared to last year. In the first six months of the year, revenues increased by 10.3%. Of this percentage, the like-for-like portfolio grew by 3.1% and new hotel openings added 6.9%. In June 2012, Scandic opened its third hotel in Aarhus, Denmark, and its third hotel in Tampere, Finland. The flagship hotels that opened in 2011 – Scandic Victoria Tower and Scandic Grand Central in Stockholm and Scandic Forus in Stavanger, Norway – have contributed significantly to the growth in revenue and profit. The total room capacity is currently 29,314 rooms and there are several new openings and construction projects in the pipeline which will result in an additional 1,811 rooms offered in Norway, Finland and Germany.

Conferences and restaurants
Two of Scandic’s focus areas in 2012 are its meeting and conference business and the development of restaurants, which account for 31% of Scandic’s total revenue. The Group’s conference and restaurant business grew by 11.8% compared to 2011. The hotels serve as meeting places for overnight, restaurant and conference guests. Scandic is also developing various concepts based on our guests’ requests.

Efficiency gains
The continuing instability in the Euro area has weakened the hotel market in Europe. In the first six months, the Nordic countries have shown a slight but positive growth driven by higher average prices, but increased room capacity in many of Scandic’s main destinations has lowered occupancy rates. Scandic has continually worked to exploit economies of scale in areas such as procurement, streamlining support functions and establishing centres of excellence, which have also contributed to higher operating margins.