SOL MELIA ANNUAL REPORT 00 COMP

LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN
dDear shareholders,
The year 2000 has been, without a shadow of a doubt, a key year for
Sol Meliá. The acquisition and integration of Tryp Hotels and the consequences
of the deal represent great milestones in company development and
a major step towards our consolidation as a major player on the world stage.
More than 330 hotels with more than 82,000 rooms in 30 countries makes
us not only the biggest resort hotel company in the world, but also undisputed
leaders in Spain and in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as
the second largest hotel chain in Europe. And after almost half a century,
all of this has made the year 2000 a year in which Sol Meliá has entered
the prestigious “Top Ten” hotel companies in the world. A team of more
than 33,000 people and a portfolio of 80 new hotel projects already signed
for development will take Sol Meliá to 410 hotels with 102,000 rooms in
less than 2 more years.
As one would expect, the company that now emerges from this deal is much
more structurally sound, blessed with greater operational capacity and with
great expectations for improvements in results. The acquisition has also reaffirmed
our philosophy of diversification of our hotel portfolio and our ability
to provide solutions to the needs of all different types of business and leisure
travellers. Our consolidation in the city hotel arena and our clear leadership
of the Spanish market have also made it more difficult for foreign companies
to gain a significant foothold in our domestic market, while also improving
our position in terms of variable and structural costs.
This significant deal has not only served to increase the number of hotels
in our portfolio, but it has also provided, as expected, an increase in company
profitability. Our earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortisation (EBITDA) have reached 43,377 million pesetas – 260.7
million euros-, an increase of 31% over the previous year and, once again,
far in excess of the 20% annual growth we have always set as our objective.
The new and strategic incorporations, the benefits generated by the extensive
refurbishment programme in a large number of hotels and the repositioning
of company hotels and brands after such an important deal have
had an exceptional result: the achievement of record financial results for the
year 2000. Consolidated turnover increased by 35%, while consolidated
revenues grew to 149,399 million pesetas – 891.9 million euros -, and net
profits rose to 19,750 million pesetas – 118.7 million euros.
These results, the financial solvency of the company and the excellent perspectives
for the future have given us the second best credit rating in the
S OL
M ELIÁ
A NNUAL R EPORT 2000
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