CEE hotel developer Warimpex in loss, sees slight upturn in recent sales

Listed CEE hotel and commercial property developer Warimpex said the first quarter saw lower occupancy rates and lower revenues at its hotels so that group sales fell by 19% to e14.7m. Its loss for the period widened to e10.3m from a e1.9m loss in 1Q08, while EPS came in a negative e0.28, wider than the loss 12 months earlier of e0.05. "Tourism is very sensitive to economic trends and cycles," said Chairman Franz Jurkowitsch. "Warimpex hotels were not able to escape the effects of the poor economic environment and saw significant decreases in sales, especially in the Czech Republic and France. However, business at our hotel in Munich has grown nicely as of late, and conference business at the newly opened andel's in Berlin has gotten off to a promising start. And in Prague, we are seeing a slight turnaround after the significant declines in recent months." He added: "I expect the volume of real estate transactions will begin rising again at the end of 2009." At 31 March, the Warimpex real estate portfolio comprised 18 hotels offering 4,300 rooms.