INTOSOL Holdings Plc - Trading Update
PR Newswire
London, June 14
INTOSOL Holdings Plc / Ticker: INTO / Index: LSE / Sector: Travel & Leisure
17 June 2019
INTOSOL Holdings Plc ('INTOSOL' or the 'Company')
Trading Update
INTOSOL Holdings Plc, the award-winning international luxury travel company which combines property ownership and management with highly personalised travel design, is pleased to provide a trading update for the first quarter of its financial year to 31 January 2020.
Highlights
- Robust revenues of EUR 1,789,916 EUR (Private Travel Design Germany EUR 1,476,251 EUR/ SOUL Private Collection South Africa EUR 313,665) delivered, despite it being the low season for luxury travel
- Revenues and profitability anticipated to increase in the upcoming high season (October 2019 to January 2020)
- Restructured SOUL Private Collection model to replace rental properties with new properties based on management contracts that deliver higher margins
- 15% increase in guest bookings in the SOUL Private Collection properties compared to Q1 FY2019
- Additional revenue streams being developed for the SOUL Private Collection
- Increased interest from villa and estate owners both within and outside South Africa for its SOUL Private Collection management and marketing contracts
- Advancing strategy to boost revenue within the Private Travel Design division
- Reviewing potential acquisition targets
INTOSOL Executive Chairman, Rainer Spekowius, said:"The first quarter of INTOSOL's financial year has seen us make excellent progress across our SOUL Private Collection and Private Travel Design business, highlighted by increasing revenues and despite it being low season for luxury travel. The restructuring of our SOUL Private Collection model will be a driver in improved financial performance as we go forward. We are replacing previous rental contracts with new management contracts based on a profit share agreement, ensuring higher margins and capturing additional upside from commission on bookings. We are also advancing our strategy to drive increased revenues within the Private Travel Design division. With this in mind, we believe we now have the right model in place to see continual improvements in our financial performance as we move into the high season and look forward to providing updates on progress."
Full details
During Q1 FY 2020, the Group delivered revenues of EUR 1,789,916 and the Board anticipates that revenues and profitability will increase further in the upcoming high season (October 2019 to January 2020). With five exclusive properties and a site ready to build a luxury safari lodge now in the SOUL Private Collection, the Company has an increasingly robust portfolio of owned and managed boutique hotel and villa properties (www.soulprivatecollection.com).
The Company has restructured its SOUL Private Collection model to replace rental properties with new properties based on management contracts that deliver higher margins. Under this new structure, INTOSOL earns 35% commission on bookings and a profit share property. SOUL Rainbow's End, an exclusive hotel located in Knysna on the Garden Route, opened in April 2019, in line with the new strategy.
The period has seen a significant increase in guest bookings into the SOUL Private Collection properties, up 15% on Q1 FY2019. Bookings are expected to continue to increase, with a 20% increase in Company website traffic seen during the quarter. Other revenue streams are being developed for the SOUL Private Collection and discussions with online and international tour operators including in the US market are progressing. Furthermore, the Company has seen an increased interest from villa and estate owners both within and outside South Africa for its SOUL Private Collection management and marketing contracts.
The Company is advancing its strategy to boost revenue within the Private Travel Design division. To this end, it is bolstering the team with experienced travel designers to drive increased bookings, adding new luxury travel locations to the portfolio including destinations in Costa Rica and North America, advancing its unique travel design technology and progressing negotiations with potential international partners to establish global divisions. The Company is also actively reviewing potential acquisition targets to reduce competition and enhance its overall offering.
The FY results to 31 January 2019 announced on 31 May 2019 showed revenues of EUR 7.182m and a loss of EUR 1.798m. This compares to EUR 1.99m of revenue for the period 6 June 2017 to 31 January 2018 and a loss for that same period of EUR 154,000. In its FY results to 31 January 2019, the Company had a number of one-off costs including start-up costs for new SOUL Private Collection hotels, costs associated with the opening of a new office in Cape Town and costs for the restructuring and listing in October 2018.
The reason for the 6 June 2017 to 31 January 2018 analysis within the recent FY results as opposed to the more standard form of 12 months to January 2018 is that INTOSOL Holdings PLC was formed on 6 June 2017. Therefore, the period of 6 June 2017 to 31 January 2018 was the first period of consolidated figures available to the Company. Going forward the Company will report full year results to 31 January by 31 May and its interim results to 31 July by 31 October in the standard reporting format.
**ENDS**
For further information on INTOSOL visit the Company's website www.intosolholdingsplc.com or contact:
| Rainer Spekowius Executive Chairman | INTOSOL Holdings Plc | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
| Claire Noyce (Corporate Broker) | Hybridan LLP | Tel: +44 (0)203 764 2341 |
| Juliet Earl / Gaby Jenner (Financial PR) | St Brides Partners Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
Notes
INTOSOL Holdings PLC is a London-listed international luxury travel company that combines highly personalised travel design with property ownership and management to provide high-end global travel experiences. To improve margins, it is building its SOUL Private Collection of leased and owned boutique properties, and is in the process of purchasing and developing a number of sites in South Africa including Oceans Wilderness, a luxury nine-bedroom boutique hotel in the Garden Route, and a commercial safari lodge in the renowned Leadwood Big Game Estate, one of the premier locations to see the so-called Big Five on safari (lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and Cape buffalo).
The SOUL Private Collection
INTOSOL's SOUL Private Collection includes two properties in Cape Town, South Africa: SOUL on Llandudno (www.soulonllandudno.co.za) and Penthouse on Beach (www.penthouseonbeach.co.za).
The flagship property in the portfolio, Oceans Wilderness (www.oceanswilderness.co.za), which reported a strong maiden financial performance in its first year of operation, is located on the Garden Route along with SOUL Rainbow's End and SOUL on the Heads. The Company also owns a site to build the Leadwood Safari Lodge in the Leadwood Big Game Estate (www.leadwood.net), one of the premier locations globally to see the Big Five in the wild.
INTOSOL Private Travel Design
The Private Travel Design division tailors bespoke and unique experiences to a high-end client base which currently stands at over 15,000. The division has a unique and growing network of over 3,500 hotel and agency partners worldwide.
