PPHE Hotels own a number of UK hotels including many under the Park Plaza brand. They announced fourth quarter earnings this morning and the numbers made for impressive reading. Compared to the same period last year, RevPAR – Revenue per available room – jumped by 10%, thanks not only to the falling value of the pound, but also because of a particularly good run for the company in Germany and Croatia. The full year numbers will be released later next month and may show the cost of hotel renovations has having an impact, but against a backdrop of rising incomes, this has a positive connotation for the long term.
FlyBe, the low cost airline that sits in the shadow of operators like easyJet, published its Q3 trading statement today and the headline metrics look good – the load factor is up as the number of seats on sale fell and a 13% increase in revenue per seat was posted, but costs per seat are rising just as quickly. The airline needs to be careful as economies of scale mean that continuing to shrink the business doesn’t provide a long terms solution.
Britvic, the makers of soft drinks, published their Q4 numbers this morning. The interesting theme here is how a business with over 150 years of legacy stacks up against the likes of FeverTree, which continues to post explosive growth rates. Despite the obsession with fancy tonic waters, one of Britvic’s strongest performances came from the UK carbonates market, with the success of its Pepsi Max brand being seen as a key driver here, perhaps showing the importance of marketing when it comes to products like this. Britvic’s revenues are around eight times higher than those of FeverTree.