Download Complete PDF - Informe Anual 2012
Download Complete PDF - Informe Anual 2012
Download Complete PDF - Informe Anual 2012
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CONSOLIDATED<br />
MANAGEMENT REPORT<br />
For the financial year ending 31 december <strong>2012</strong><br />
EVOLUTION OF BUSINESS AND GROUP’S SITUATION<br />
The <strong>2012</strong> financial year saw the world economy grow slightly slower (3.2%) than in 2011 (3.9%). Economic growth rates also remained at similar levels,<br />
slightly lower than in on the previous year in the euro area, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Latin American countries in which the Group<br />
operates its 391 hotels. However, comparing the year-on-year economic growth rates for the four countries that account for the largest proportion of the<br />
Group’s sales and income: Germany (0.9% compared to 3.1%), the Netherlands (-0.9 vs 2.2%), Spain (0.4 vs -1.4%) and Italy (0.4 compared to -2.1%), we<br />
see that these economies have fallen by around 2 to 3 percentage points. With the exception of Germany, all of these economies moved from growth<br />
to contraction.<br />
The same is true if we compare the latest reports of the World Travel & Tourism Council, which include the <strong>2012</strong> growth estimates in travel and tourism<br />
GDP for all world regions. Asia and Latin America present growth of 6% in <strong>2012</strong> compared to a contraction of 0.5% in Europe. The move towards negative<br />
growth has also occurred in the hotel sector in Europe, but not in air traffic or transport. According to data as of November, occupancy (-0.1%) and prices<br />
(-4.5%) fell only in European hotels.<br />
As such, the growth of the Group’s sales in 2011 has been interrupted, even in a macroeconomic context of weak growth. In <strong>2012</strong>, despite the decreasing<br />
demand, the Group managed to maintain occupancy at similar levels to 2011 (-0.3%), with a slight fall in average prices (-1.0%).<br />
In <strong>2012</strong>, commercial initiatives were designed to reinforce web sales channels, as well as certain local offices. Efforts to render the Group more efficient<br />
reduced operating expenses by -0.3% in absolute terms, thereby offsetting inflation. As announced in the last report, the Group will continue to focus its<br />
attention on both personnel expenses in Spain and Italy (where personnel costs compared to sales are much higher than in other business units) and on<br />
leases in the same business units. This year, a number of measures aimed at reducing operating losses and their resultant impact on cash remain in force:<br />
Freezing of investments: The bulk of investments are focused on maintenance and on expenditure required by legal undertakings made<br />
to public bodies. This year, some investment has been allocated to modernising and improving the services of some of our main company-owned<br />
hotels, given their high returns in terms of revenue and profit per room. In accordance with our strategy of moving towards an “asset-light” model<br />
involving management/franchise contracts that do not require investment commitments, all hotels opened and new contracts signed in <strong>2012</strong> were<br />
under a management arrangement. Total investment in <strong>2012</strong> amounted to €47 million, 16.3% less than in 2011.<br />
Staff flexibility: Thanks to the cost containment measures applied in <strong>2012</strong>, personnel expenses have fallen by -2.9% in spite of activity levels<br />
similar to the previous year, reinforcing the sales teams, and the effect of inflation.<br />
Reduction of operating costs: Maintaining savings and cost-control plans has allowed us to cut costs for the third year in succession,<br />
including cutting personnel expenses by €14.1 million.<br />
Withdrawal from unprofitable hotels: Termination of lease agreements and franchises with negative EBITDA, showing no signs of<br />
recovery. As part of our streamlining policy, 10 hotels with a total of 1,105 rooms have been removed from the NH Hoteles portfolio. Seven of these<br />
were located in Spain and Italy. The withdrawal of these hotels was offset by the addition of 5 new management contracts, contributing with 906<br />
rooms in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Haiti, Spain and the Dominican Republic. Of these, those in Prague, Punta Cana and Ourense were<br />
already in operation in <strong>2012</strong>, and along with the three management contracts signed in 2011, provided NH Group with a total of 992 operational<br />
rooms.<br />
Negotiating and refinancing hotel rental agreements through reductions in rental installments and freezing rent rises. The Group<br />
has managed to stabilise lease expenditure in <strong>2012</strong> (down by 0.6%), offsetting the opening of hotels, increases resulting from negotiations in previous<br />
years, and CPI revisions. Between 2011 and <strong>2012</strong>, 84 actions were carried out at leased hotels with negative EBITDA, and 8 agreements were<br />
terminated early. Rent reductions are planned for 2013 in addition to those already obtained.<br />
End customers, who are even more demanding in tourist destinations with an oversupply of hotel rooms, did not report any negative effect on quality<br />
as a result of direct action taken on operating costs. In <strong>2012</strong>, NH Group focused its efforts on providing the Group with a system for measuring and<br />
monitoring customer satisfaction, which has enabled it to make decisions, respond and implement prompt action plans wherever necessary. NH has<br />
managed to include more than 200,000 customer assessments and more than 130,000 comments from all its hotels in a single tool known as “Quality<br />
Focus On Line”. This tool analyses results either for individual hotels or from an aggregate perspective, and allows the Group to closely monitor its direct<br />
competitors. Likewise, the Board of Directors of the Parent Company decided that NH employees would have 15% of their variable target directly linked<br />
to the satisfaction results obtained in <strong>2012</strong>, reinforcing the idea that quality is one of the mainstays of NH Hoteles.<br />
The outcome of these policies is reflected in an improvement in overall customer assessment of NH during <strong>2012</strong>, from 8.0 out of 10 in 2011, to 8.1 in <strong>2012</strong>.<br />
According to these results, the most appreciated aspects of the chain, in addition to location, are service and cleanliness, which scored above 8.3; both<br />
aspects are directly related to the work of employees, showing the importance of customer-centred approach for NH Hoteles Group.<br />
8 CONSOLIDATED MANAGEMENT REPORT