August 29, 2012
Muscat: Interior Hotels Company (IHC) yesterday said it has finalised the acquisition of Park Inn Hotel property. This follows the company signing a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with the shareholders of Al Ahlam Hotel Management for the acquisition of the four-star hotel located at Al Khuwair in July this year.
IHC owns Golden Tulip Nizwa, which has 120 rooms, and the acquisition of Park Inn is expected to strengthen its presence in the hospitality sector in the Sultanate. "This is one way the company plans to strengthen its presence in the hospitality sector in Oman,- said a market analyst.
Interior Hotels recently raised RO3 million capital through a rights issue of 30 million shares for funding the acquisition. The rights issue has raised the company's paid up capital to RO5 million from RO2 million earlier.
Interior Hotels is majority owned by MB Group and two government pension funds have sizable stake. Since three stakeholders have a combined ownership of 80 per cent, the shares are thinly traded on the Muscat Securities Market.
The MB Group earlier revealed its ambition to strengthen its presence in the hospitality sector. Meanwhile, the net profit for the first half stood lower at RO151,275 as compared to RO314,102 for the same period of last year. "The decline in net profit is basically attributed to the increase in salary and staff cost which is a trend across Oman,- the company chairman Usama Mohammed Ali Al Barwani stated in the first half results.
The first half turnover was also lower at RO968,481 as compared to RO1,040,367 for the corresponding period of previous year. A huge delegate from the Royal Court Affairs was present in the hotel last year. "The decline in travel agents' bookings which is a common trend witnessed all over Oman has also contributed to the drop in revenue.-
© Times of Oman 2012
