EX-99 2 a06-23135_1ex99.htm NEWS RELEASE DATED NOVEMBER 1, 2006

Exhibit 99

[Orient-Express Hotels News Release]




ORIENT-EXPRESS HOTELS ANNOUNCES THIRD QUARTER NET EARNINGS OF $20.2 MILLION, 4% UP FROM THE PRIOR YEAR.   THIRD QUARTER ADJUSTED NET EARNINGS GREW 28% AGAINST PRIOR YEAR AT $24.8 MILLION.  EBITDA FOR THE THIRD QUARTER IS $49.5 MILLION, UP 25% ON 2005

Reconciliation and Adjustments

 

 

Three months ended 
September 30

 

Nine months ended
September 30

 

$’000 - except per share amounts

 

2006

 

2005

 

2006

 

2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EBITDA

 

49,492

 

39,516

 

105,742

 

86,177

 

Adjustment – gain on asset sale

 

 

 

(6,619

)

 

Adjusted EBITDA

 

49,492

 

39,516

 

99,123

 

86,177

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

US GAAP reported net earnings

 

20,221

 

19,483

 

32,482

 

36,383

 

Adjusted items:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

·  Write-off of deferred finance costs

 

1,875

 

 

1,875

 

 

·  Foreign exchange loss /(gain)

 

2,752

 

(77

)

5,548

 

(4,152

)

·  Gain on asset sales (net of tax)

 

 

 

(3,294

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted net earnings

 

24,848

 

19,406

 

36,611

 

32,231

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted EPS

 

0.60

 

0.49

 

0.91

 

0.85

 

Reported EPS

 

0.49

 

0.50

 

0.81

 

0.96

 

Number of shares (millions)

 

41.69

 

39.34

 

40.20

 

37.82

 

 

Third Quarter highlights:

·                  Worldwide same store RevPAR growth of 10% (U.S.$ and local currency)

·                  EBITDA up 25% from $39.5 million in 2005 to $49.5 million in 2006

·                  EBITDA margin 33% up 300 bps on same period in 2005

·                  6 hotels in South-East Asia (ex-Pansea) acquired during the quarter, smoothly absorbed into the OEH portfolio

·                  $126 million value of euro debt fixed at 3.89% rate

1




Hamilton, Bermuda, November 1, 2006.  Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. (NYSE: OEH, www.orient-express.com), owners or part-owners and managers of 49 luxury hotel, restaurant, tourist train and river cruise properties in 25 countries, today announced its results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2006.

For the third quarter net earnings were $20.2 million ($0.49 per common share) on revenue of $150.5 million compared with $19.5 million ($0.50 per common share) on revenue of $132.4 million in the prior year period.  Adjusted net earnings (before foreign exchange losses and refinancing costs) for the quarter were $24.8 million ($0.60 per common share), an increase of 28% over adjusted net earnings of $19.4 million ($0.49 per common share) the previous year.   Adjusted earnings per common share were up 22% and revenue was up 14% over the third quarter of 2005.  EBITDA increased from $39.5 million in 2005 to $49.5 million.

Mr James Sherwood, Chairman, said that at the EBITDA level, European hotels reported a strong increase over the prior year period, while U.S. and South African properties were similar year on year.  South American hotels reported a substantial improvement as did Trains & Cruises, hotel management and part ownership interests and Asia Pacific hotels.  Solid RevPAR growth and improving margins drove a 25% increase in EBITDA over the prior year period.  This quarter is typically the strongest earnings period for the year.

Mr Simon Sherwood, President and CEO, said same store RevPAR in U.S. dollars and in local currency both increased by 10%.  The company experienced strong same store RevPAR growth in all regions.  About half of this growth was due to increased rate (up 5%) with the rest coming from improved occupancy.  With improved revenue, EBITDA margins continue to grow and were up 300 bps to 33%.

During the quarter, the company added six Asian properties (formerly Pansea) to the group.  The new hotels are settling in satisfactorily with the hotels in Koh Samui and Bali performing particularly well – this in spite of last year’s bomb in Bali which is reportedly still depressing demand to the destination.  In July, the company

2




completed a primary public offering of class A common shares raising $99 million to fund these acquisitions and future growth.

In August, El Encanto, in Santa Barbara closed for a $30 million refurbishment as planned.  Work is underway on this beautiful historic property.  It is scheduled to reopen early 2008 and should boost the company’s presence and visibility in the U.S. west coast market.

In September, the former casino rooms in the Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro were successfully inaugurated, effectively doubling the hotel’s banqueting facilities.  This improvement should greatly increase the hotel’s food and beverage profits.  Also, a new banqueting room at ‘21’ Club, the Orchid Room, was completed in the quarter and has opened to excellent reviews.

Mr Simon Sherwood reviewed the performance by region, as follows:

Europe:   Revenues were up 15% from $63.0 million in 2005 to $72.6 million in 2006.  EBITDA increased $5.6 million or 21% to $32.5 million, with every hotel in the region showing good revenue growth.  The Grand Hotel Europe, Hotel Caruso, Reid’s Palace and La Residencia produced particularly strong results.

North America:  EBITDA of owned hotels was $3.3 million, down $0.3 million on the 2005 result of $3.6 million.  Underlying performance was strong but the quarter was negatively affected by some closure costs at El Encanto (EBITDA $0.3 million loss in 2006, $0.7 million profit in 2005) and by a change in phasing of the sale of home lots at Keswick (EBITDA of $0.3 million in 2006, $2.5 million in 2005), as a new section of the estate has been prepared for sale.  This phasing should even out for the year as a whole.

Southern Africa:  EBITDA in South Africa grew $0.1 million to $1.5 million in the quarter, primarily due to better earnings at the Mount Nelson Hotel.  Orient-Express Safaris had another good season.

3




South America:  Revenues at the South American properties grew 20% to $7.9 million in what is traditionally its low season.  EBITDA grew $0.9 million to $2.3 million, a 65% increase.

Asia Pacific:   The Observatory and Lilianfels both showed good growth combined with a strong quarter for several of the former Pansea properties, particularly in Koh Samui and Bali.   Opportunities are already surfacing that may allow expansion of parts of the South-East Asian portfolio.  EBITDA for the region increased $2.0 million up to $3.4 million.

Hotel management and part-ownership:  EBITDA was $4.7 million compared with $3.9 million in the year earlier period.  Charleston Place and the hotels in Peru were largely responsible for the gains.

Restaurants:  EBITDA was a loss of $0.1 million compared with a loss of $0.2 million in the same period last year.  ‘21’ Club was closed for 4 weeks during this low season quarter.

Tourist trains and river cruises:  EBITDA was $7.0 million compared with $6.0 million in the prior year period.  Improvements from PeruRail, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and the Road to Mandalay are primarily responsible for this increase.

Mr Paul White, CFO, reviewed financial matters as follows:

The new European finance facility was successfully put in place at the end of July providing greater cash availability and reducing the average cost of debt in Europe by 25 bps.  The accounting write-offs related to refinancing resulted, as expected, in a one-off charge of $1.9 million in the third quarter.  Of the $241 million value in euros drawn, $126 million has been fixed at 3.89% interest rate for 5 years.

The decline of the South African Rand against the U.S. dollar resulted in a non-cash foreign exchange loss of $2.8 million.   The company has taken the decision to move its U.S. dollar denominated debt in South African to parent company level, removing this foreign exchange volatility from the income statement for the future.

4




The tax rate was 21% in the third quarter, net of one-time credits on recognition of certain deferred tax benefits.  Due to the increased profitability of the group in various taxable jurisdictions and due to the impact of new tax reporting regulations, especially FIN 48, management anticipates the effective tax rate as reported under U.S. GAAP will increase.  However, the company’s current cash tax cost should not be significantly affected by these changes and is expected to be about 25% for the full year.

Mr James Sherwood indicated that acquisition discussions were still in progress in the U.S., Brazil and Europe but a decision was only likely with respect to Brazil before the end of the year.  The Brazilian government has set November 21st as the bid date for the Cataratas Hotel where six bidders have pre-qualified.

The Board of Orient-Express Hotels announced that Mr Simon Sherwood, President, has now formally been appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer.  Mr James Sherwood continues as Chairman of the Board.

********

Management believes that EBITDA (net earnings adjusted for interest expense, foreign currency, tax, depreciation and amortization) is a useful measure of operating performance, for example to help determine the ability  to incur capital expenditure or service indebtedness, because it is not affected by non-operating factors such as leverage and the historic cost of assets.  EBITDA is also a financial performance measure commonly used in the hotel and leisure industry, although the company’s EBITDA may not be comparable in all instances to that disclosed by other companies.  EBITDA does not represent net cash provided by operating, investing and financing activities under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP), is not necessarily indicative of cash available to fund all cash flow needs, and should not be considered as an alternative to earnings from operations or net earnings under U.S. GAAP for purposes of evaluating operating performance.

Adjusted net earnings is a non-GAAP financial measure and does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP.  It is, therefore, unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies, which may be calculated differently, and should not be considered as an alternative to net earnings, cash flow from operating activities or any other measure of performance prescribed by U.S. GAAP.   Management considers adjusted net earnings be a meaningful indicator of operations and uses it as a measure to assess operating performance.  Adjusted net earnings is also used by investors, analysts and lenders as a measure of financial performance.

5




This news release contains, in addition to historical information, forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.  These include statements regarding earnings outlook, investment plans and similar matters that are not historical facts.  These statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.  Factors that may cause a difference include, but are not limited to, those mentioned in the news release, unknown effects on the travel and leisure markets of terrorist activity and any police or military response, varying customer demand and competitive considerations, realization of hotel bookings and reservations and planned property development sales as actual revenue, inability to sustain price increases or to reduce costs, fluctuations in interest rates and currency values, uncertainty of negotiating and completing proposed capital expenditures and acquisitions, adequate sources of capital and acceptability of finance terms, possible loss or amendment of planning permits and delays in construction schedules for expansion or development projects, delays in reopening properties closed for repair or refurbishment and possible cost overruns, shifting patterns of tourism and business travel and seasonality of demand, adverse local weather conditions, uncertainty of recovering on insurance claims for property damage and lost earnings, changing global and regional economic conditions, and legislative, regulatory and political developments.  Further information regarding these and other factors is included in the filings by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

******

Orient-Express Hotels will conduct a conference call on November 2, 2006 at 10.00 AM (EST) which is accessible at 1 866 220 1452 (US toll free) or +44 1452 542300 (Standard International access).  A re-play of the conference call will be available until 5.00pm (EST) Wednesday, November 8, 2006 and can be accessed by calling 1 866 247 4222 (US toll free) or +44 1452 550 000 (Standard International) and entering replay access number 8516680.  A re-play will also be available on the company’s website: www.orient-expressinvestorinfo.com.

6




ORIENT-EXPRESS HOTELS LTD

Three Months ended September 30, 2006

SUMMARY OF OPERATING RESULTS

 

 

Three months ended
September 30

 

$’000 – except per share amount

 

2006

 

2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue and earnings from unconsolidated companies

 

 

 

 

 

Owned hotels

 

 

 

 

 

- Europe

 

72,569

 

62,993

 

- North America

 

21,545

 

19,541

 

- Rest of World

 

26,308

 

21,725

 

Hotel management & part ownership interests

 

4,721

 

3,880

 

Restaurants

 

3,511

 

3,425

 

Trains & Cruises

 

21,862

 

20,859

 

Total (1)

 

150,516

 

132,423

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Analysis of earnings

 

 

 

 

 

Owned hotels

 

 

 

 

 

- Europe

 

32,484

 

26,878

 

- North America

 

3,279

 

3,627

 

- Rest of World

 

7,201

 

4,185

 

Hotel management & part ownership interests

 

4,721

 

3,880

 

Restaurants

 

(128

)

(165

)

Trains & Cruises

 

7,001

 

5,967

 

Central overheads

 

(5,066

)

(4,856

)

EBITDA

 

49,492

 

39,516

 

Depreciation & Amortization

 

(8,960

)

(8,598

)

Interest

 

(12,117

)

(7,896

)

Foreign exchange

 

(2,752

)

77

 

Earnings before Tax

 

25,663

 

23,099

 

Tax

 

(5,442

)

(3,616

)

Net earnings on common shares

 

20,221

 

19,483

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earnings per common share

 

0.49

 

0.50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number of shares – millions

 

41.69

 

39.34

 

 


(1)           Comprises earnings from unconsolidated companies of $5,753,000 (2005: $4,690,000) and revenue of $144,763,000 (2005: $127,733,000).

7




ORIENT-EXPRESS HOTELS LTD

Three Months Ended September 30, 2006

SUMMARY OF OPERATING INFORMATION FOR OWNED HOTELS

 

 

Three months ended
 September 30

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2006

 

2005

 

 

 

 

 

Average Daily Rate (in U.S. dollars)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

670

 

625

 

 

 

 

 

North America

 

284

 

278

 

 

 

 

 

Rest of World

 

245

 

262

 

 

 

 

 

Worldwide

 

427

 

427

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rooms Available (000’s)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

92

 

92

 

 

 

 

 

North America

 

53

 

45

 

 

 

 

 

Rest of World

 

100

 

83

 

 

 

 

 

Worldwide

 

245

 

220

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rooms Sold (000’s)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

65

 

61

 

 

 

 

 

North America

 

36

 

30

 

 

 

 

 

Rest of World

 

59

 

47

 

 

 

 

 

Worldwide

 

160

 

138

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RevPAR (in U.S. dollars)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

478

 

417

 

 

 

 

 

North America

 

193

 

183

 

 

 

 

 

Rest of World

 

145

 

148

 

 

 

 

 

Worldwide

 

280

 

267

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Change %

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dollar

 

Local
currency

 

Same Store RevPAR (in U.S. dollars)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

463

 

415

 

12

%

11

%

North America

 

282

 

259

 

9

%

9

%

Rest of World

 

156

 

148

 

5

%

10

%

Worldwide

 

311

 

283

 

10

%

10

%

 

8




ORIENT-EXPRESS HOTELS LTD

Nine Months ended September 30, 2006

SUMMARY OF OPERATING RESULTS

 

 

Nine months ended
September 30

 

$’000 – except per share amount

 

2006

 

2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue and earnings from unconsolidated companies

 

 

 

 

 

Owned hotels

 

 

 

 

 

- Europe

 

146,146

 

134,468

 

- North America

 

67,431

 

66,473

 

- Rest of World

 

78,519

 

67,155

 

Hotel management & part ownership interests

 

14,365

 

12,494

 

Restaurants

 

14,627

 

14,571

 

Trains & Cruises

 

50,873

 

50,001

 

Total (1)

 

371,961

 

345,162

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Analysis of earnings

 

 

 

 

 

Owned hotels

 

 

 

 

 

- Europe

 

49,585

 

44,836

 

- North America

 

14,794

 

15,121

 

- Rest of World

 

20,342

 

14,223

 

Hotel management & part ownership interests

 

14,365

 

12,494

 

Restaurants

 

2,461

 

2,485

 

Trains & Cruises

 

12,529

 

11,025

 

Central overheads

 

(14,953

)

(14,007

)

Gain on sale of investment

 

6,619

 

 

EBITDA

 

105,742

 

86,177

 

Depreciation & Amortization

 

(26,268

)

(25,048

)

Interest

 

(32,462

)

(21,701

)

Foreign exchange

 

(5,548

)

4,152

 

Earnings before Tax

 

41,464

 

43,580

 

Tax

 

(8,982

)

(7,197

)

Net earnings on common shares

 

32,482

 

36,383

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earnings per common share

 

0.81

 

0.96

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number of shares – millions

 

40.20

 

37.82

 

 


(1)          Comprises earnings from unconsolidated companies of $13,242,000 (2005: $10,688,000) and revenue of $358,719,000 (2005: $334,474,000).

9




ORIENT-EXPRESS HOTELS LTD

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2006

SUMMARY OF OPERATING INFORMATION FOR OWNED HOTELS

 

 

Nine months ended 
September 30

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2006

 

2005

 

 

 

 

 

Average Daily Rate (in U.S. dollars)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

611

 

565

 

 

 

 

 

North America

 

318

 

330

 

 

 

 

 

Rest of World

 

269

 

270

 

 

 

 

 

Worldwide

 

396

 

392

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rooms Available (000’s)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

225

 

230

 

 

 

 

 

North America

 

157

 

165

 

 

 

 

 

Rest of World

 

269

 

248

 

 

 

 

 

Worldwide

 

651

 

643

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rooms Sold (000’s)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

139

 

140

 

 

 

 

 

North America

 

113

 

112

 

 

 

 

 

Rest of World

 

166

 

142

 

 

 

 

 

Worldwide

 

418

 

394

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RevPAR (in U.S. dollars)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

376

 

343

 

 

 

 

 

North America

 

228

 

224

 

 

 

 

 

Rest of World

 

166

 

155

 

 

 

 

 

Worldwide

 

254

 

240

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Change %

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dollar

 

Local
currency

 

Same Store RevPAR (in U.S. dollars)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

414

 

383

 

8

%

9

%

North America

 

319

 

292

 

9

%

9

%

Rest of World

 

170

 

155

 

10

%

14

%

Worldwide

 

278

 

256

 

9

%

11

%

 

10




ORIENT-EXPESS HOTELS LTD

CONSOLIDATED AND CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS
(UNAUDITED)


$’000

 

September 30
2006

 

December 31
2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash

 

105,692

 

38,397

 

Accounts receivable

 

67,581

 

59,061

 

Due from related parties

 

19,157

 

17,549

 

Prepaid expenses and other

 

20,234

 

13,061

 

Inventories

 

33,298

 

29,636

 

Real estate assets

 

22,366

 

12,149

 

Total current assets

 

268,328

 

169,853

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Property, plant & equipment, net of accumulated depreciation

 

1,138,391

 

1,017,175

 

Investments

 

127,330

 

129,681

 

Goodwill and other intangible assets

 

102,368

 

62,867

 

Other assets

 

38,795

 

35,986

 

 

 

1,675,212

 

1,415,562

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Working capital facilities

 

28,987

 

47,108

 

Accounts payable

 

26,184

 

22,680

 

Due to related parties

 

3,296

 

7,374

 

Accrued liabilities

 

65,698

 

43,545

 

Deferred revenue

 

29,413

 

19,339

 

Current portion of long-term debt and capital leases

 

100,394

 

72,151

 

Total current liabilities

 

253,972

 

212,197

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long-term debt and obligations under capital leases

 

554,992

 

496,156

 

Other liabilities

 

3,331

 

 

Deferred income taxes

 

39,820

 

29,656

 

Minority interest

 

1,774

 

4,153

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shareholders’ equity

 

821,323

 

673,400

 

 

 

1,675,212

 

1,415,562

 

 

11