Two Malawi Stock Exchange-listed hospitality firms Sunbird Hotels and Resorts and Blantyre Hotels (BHL) recorded mixed fortunes in 2023 as the former expects to make profits while the latter projects a loss.
This is according to trading statements the two companies published this week in respect to MSE listing requirements.
According to a statement from Sunbird, the hospitality facility has told investors that its profit after tax for the year ended December 31 2023 is expected to be within the range of K5.2 billion and K5.6 billion.
The statement adds that this represents an increase of between 70 percent and 84 percent from the previous corresponding period ending December 31 2022, when the company reported a profit after tax of K3.05 billion.
Meanwhile, BHL told shareholders in the communication that its after-tax loss for the year ended December 31 2023 is expected to close within the range of K1.4 billion to K1.43 billion.
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The hospitality player, which runs Ryalls Hotel in Blantyre, adds that this represents an increase of between 934 percent and 954 percent from the loss reported in the previous corresponding period, when the group made a loss of K136 million.
“The loss is mainly arising from the finance charges incurred on the obligations for the Lilongwe Hotel project and not from the Ryalls Hotel operations,” the statement says.
The company is running a hotel construction project in Lilongwe, being implemented through a special-purpose vehicle, Oasis Hospitality Limited, which is owned by institutional and pension fund investors including BHL, which has a 20.8 percent stake in Oasis.
Other investors include Nico Life with shareholding of 34.34 percent, Africap LLC with 32.15 percent shareholding, Press Trust with 26.30 percent shareholding and others who hold 7.21 percent of shares.
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While the local economy was volatile last year, the hospitality industry was expected to continue being on the recovery path from the disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
