The strong recovery underway drives NH’s results since April to prepandemic levels

Madrid, 22 February 2023. – NH Hotel Group, part of Minor International, generated €1.76 billion revenue in 2022, compared to €834 million in 2021 and 2.4% more than the €1.72 billion reported in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic. By quarter, revenue went from €234 million in the first quarter, €509 million in the second, €516 million in the third and €501 million in the fourth.

Pricing strategy and cost control unlocked reported EBITDA of €519 million, which is 94% of the 2019 figure, fully explained by the negative impact in the first quarter. Excluding IFRS 16 accounting impact, EBITDA reached €250 million, being between April and December 11.5% above the same period of 2019.

The sharp recovery in revenue and EBITDA enabled NH to report a Recurring Net Profit of €76 million in 2022, first positive annual result since 2019. Leaving aside the Omicron effect in the first quarter, between April and December 2022, recurring net profit amounted to €156 million, which is €35 million or 29% above the profit reported in the same period of 2019. Including net capital gains from asset rotation transactions, Total Net Profit reached €100 million in 2022, above the €90 million obtained in 2019.

The Company hopes that the resumption of larger-scale congresses and long-haul international travel as well as the ongoing reactivation in business travel at large corporations should offset any occasional slowdown in demand in the leisure segment.

NH decreased its financial debt from €568 million at year-end 2021 to €308 million on 31 December 2022. That €260 million reduction is explained by the solid operating cash flow generation and the proceeds from asset rotation transactions during the year (€68 million). The Group’s liquidity position has enabled it to extend the deleveraging embarked on in 2021; specifically, in 2022 it repaid €200 million of the €250 million state-guaranteed loan signed during the pandemic. Moreover, in January 2023, the Company repaid the remaining €50 million of that syndicated loan so that its exposure to floating-rate debt has fallen from 47% to 25%, an additional strength in the event of potential increases in EURIBOR.

The recovery in the average daily rate (ADR) and in revenue per available room (RevPAR) more than offset the drop in occupancy in 2022 relative to 2019. In 2022, NH Hotel Group’s RevPAR averaged €74, in line with the 2019 metric, despite the adverse impact of Omicron in the first quarter.

The upward trend in the ADR was more pronounced, going from €90 in the first quarter to €128 in the second, €130 in the third and €128 in the fourth. The ADR was 19% higher than in 2019 and excluding the first quarter that figure rises to 22%. Occupancy averaged 61% in 2022, penalised by the Omicron variant, which reduced it to 40% between January and March. Between April and December, occupancy averaged 68%, which is nevertheless still below the 74% recorded during the same period of 2019.

Spain recorded an ADR of €123 in 2022, 10% above 2019 levels, while occupancy averaged 69%, five percentage points below the 2019 figure. The growth in revenue was driven by an excellent performance in the secondary cities all year long and a significant uptick in Madrid y Barcelona from the second quarter on, thanks to the recovery in business travel.

Italy’s ADR increased 14% to €154, while occupancy was six percentage points lower, at 63%. Rome and the secondary cities sustained constant growth, whereas Milan kicked in from the third quarter.

In Benelux, the ADR amounted to €139, growth of 11%, while occupancy dropped 14 percentage points to 57%. Brussels and the second-line Dutch cities performed well, Amsterdam recovered more gradually, and congresses hotels sustained a more muted recovery.

In Central Europe, the ADR was 11% higher at €107, while occupancy was 18 points lower, at 55%. In that market, the main cities such as Berlin and Hamburg outperformed the secondary cities.

In Latin America, occupancy averaged 58%, down four percentage points, while the ADR increased 4% to €76. Argentina was the best performing market, Colombia and Chile performed well and Mexico was a little slower.

About NH Hotel Group

NH Hotel Group, part of Minor Hotels, is an established multinational hotel operator and a benchmark urban hotel chain in Europe and the Americas, where it runs over 350 hotels. Since 2019, it has been working with Minor Hotels on integrating all of its hotel trademarks under a single corporate umbrella brand with a presence in over 50 countries worldwide. Together they have articulated a portfolio of more than 500 hotels operating under eight brands – Anantara, Avani, Elewana, Oaks, NH Hotels, NH Collection, nhow and Tivoli – which between them provide a broad and diverse spectrum of hotel solutions in touch with the needs and desires of today’s global travellers.