ADNH sees net profit up by 28% but hotels suffer

Abu Dhabi National Hotels, the owner of Le Meridien and Sheraton-managed properties in the UAE and Hilton properties in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, said on Sunday that net profit for the year to September 30 was up by nearly 28 percent.

The hospitality company posted AED372m in net profit for the first nine months of 2009, compared to AED291m for the same period in the previous year.

Catering and general purchasing divisions led the growth in profits while the hotels division saw a drop of 17 percent in profit, compared to 2008, the company said in a statement on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange website.

It blamed the profit drop in hotels to a reduction in occupancy rates which resulted in a decline in revenues.

Third-quarter profit more than tripled on income from investments, the statement added.

Net income climbed to AED48.32 million ($13 million), from 14.76 million dirhams in the year-earlier period.

It added that construction of the Grand Canal Abu Dhabi, a JW Marriott hotel, was slated to open in summer 2010.

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