Accor, owner of the Motel 6 and Sofitel brands, reported a jump in operating profit last year with the Paris-based hotel company reporting higher demand and decreased debt.
Accor boosted operating profit before taxes and one-time items by 39%, excluding currency effects, to 438 million euros ($584 million).
Net income plunged from 2010 because of a 4.04 billion euro noncash gain a year earlier, after Accor spun off its Edenred services business.
Accor, which has more than 4,400 hotels totaling 530,000 rooms under management or franchise agreements, said its 2011 revenue rose 2.5% to 6.1 billion euros ($8.13 billion), with same-store sales advancing 5.2% at constant currency.
Higher demand for the company’s upscale hotels and non-U.S. budget chains more than offset the impact of lower sales from Motel 6. Revenue at Accor’s upscale and midscale hotels rose 5%, while sales at its Etap and Ibis budget badges advanced 6.3%.
Motel 6's same-store sales rose 4.3% but revenue was down 4.2% after some of the hotels were sold off.
Accor cut its net debt last year by more than two-thirds to 226 million euros by selling off some of its real estate and other assets.
Accor said in September that it would try to sell as many as 175 hotels, notably its Motel 6 inventory, between 2013 and 2015, in part to cut its debt by 1 billion euros.
The company also said it would consider offers for Motel 6 in an effort to reduce debt and finance Ibis hotel improvements and a planned expansion in China.
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