Hotel group Jurys Doyle has warned shareholders that underlying pre-tax profits for the first half of this year will be 'marginally down' on the same period last year.
Chairman Richard Hooper told the company's AGM in Dublin the recent SARS outbreak had hit long-haul airline traffic into the important London market, while global economic activity remained subdued.
He said that against this background, trading conditions were likely to remain challenging, adding that full-year profits would also be affected if these trends continued for the rest of the year.
Mr Hooper said occupancy rates in the first quarter were in line with the first quarter of 2002, while average room rates had been increased. This meant underlying pre-tax profits were slightly ahead of Q1 last year.
He also said the group's Washington hotels were hit by unusually bad weather. Shares in the group closed five cent higher at €7.15 in Dublin this evening.
* Brian Collie, retail director with UK airports group BAA, has joined the Jurys Doyle board as a non-executive director.
