Accor Group revenues top $5.87bln in 2024, up 11%
Accor Group reported a revenue of €5.606 billion ($5.873 billion) in 2024, up 11% from 2023, while consolidated recurring EBITDA came to €1.12 billion, a new record for Accor and up 12% versus FY 2023.
This performance is due to the resilience of RevPAR, portfolio growth, margin improvement in the M&F business, strict cost discipline in Services to Owners and the development of the Hotel Assets & Other business (particularly in the Luxury & Lifestyle division) combined with a number of acquisitions (Rikas and Potel & Chabot), the hospitlaity major said.
Net profit, group share, was €610 million in 2024, compared with €633 million in 2023. Diluted earnings per share rose to €2.33 from €2.22 in 2023, thanks to a lower average number of shares outstanding following share buybacks.
The revenue growth breaks down into a 5% increase for the Premium, Midscale and Economy (PM&E) division and 19% for the Luxury & Lifestyle division, it said.
Scope effects, linked mainly to the full-year effect of Potel & Chabot (takeover in October 2023) and the acquisition of Rikas (in March 2024) in the Luxury & Lifestyle division (the Hotel Assets & Other activity), positively contributed for €223 million.
Currency effects had a negative impact of €117 million, stemming mainly from the Turkish lira ((28)%), the Egyptian pound ((32)%) and the Brazilian real ((7)%), it said.
Throughout 2024, including a very strong fourth quarter, the hospitality sector proved resilient in a contrasting consumer environment. The group's diversification in terms of both geography and segment enabled it to post even stronger activity. As a result, both divisions - Premium, Midscale and Economy (PM&E) and Luxury & Lifestyle (L&L) - reported results well in line with the outlook presented at the June 2023 Investor Day.
In 2024, Accor opened 293 hotels, corresponding to more than 50,000 rooms, i.e., net network growth of 3.5% in the last 12 months. At end-December 2024, the Group had a hotel portfolio of 850,285 rooms (5,682 hotels) and a pipeline of more than 233,000 rooms (1,381 hotels).
Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Accor, said: 'Ambition, discipline and high standards are the three pillars that have guided Accor's actions in 2024. They have once again enabled us to post record results, in line with each of the objectives we have set for the Group. This performance reflects the extraordinary commitment of our teams, the strength of our brands and our digital tools, the renewed confidence of our partners and the efficiency of our organization based on two autonomous and complementary divisions. Thanks to this vigorous growth, we will propose an increased return to shareholders at the next general meeting.
"On these solid foundations, and by continuing to control our destiny, we are approaching 2025 with confidence and the ambition to once again deliver excellent results,' he said.
Fourth quarter RevPAR
The Premium, Midscale and Economy (PM&E) division posted a 4% increase in RevPAR compared with the fourth quarter of 2023, driven equally by prices and occupancy.
The Europe, North Africa (ENA) region posted a 2% increase in RevPAR compared with Q4 2023, driven by higher occupancy rates. The three main countries pursued the momentum seen in the first 9 months of the year, with Germany outperforming France and the UK.
The Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific region rebounded in the quarter, posting a 5% increase in RevPAR compared with the fourth quarter of 2023. Two-thirds of this increase in RevPAR was driven by prices, and one-third by occupancy rates.
In the Middle East-Africa region, which accounts for 24% of the region's room revenue, Saudi Arabia explains the rebound in RevPAR. In the third quarter of 2024, Saudi Arabia had to deal with a difficult basis of comparison linked to religious pilgrimages. This country is benefiting from strong demand, reflected in an occupancy rate now at 70%, 10 points above the pre-crisis level.
The Luxury & Lifestyle (L&L) division posted its best performance for the year with a 10% increase in RevPAR compared with Q4 2023, driven by both prices and occupancy.
Copyright 2024 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
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Tagging each cow in Para isn't simply a tool to guarantee animals aren't eating grass where forests were illegally razed. More than anything, it allows animal health agencies to quickly track any sick cattle and their contacts. Data suggests the market rewards traceable herds. The average price of the beef Brazil exports is 8% lower than Uruguay's, which traces cattle individually, according to 2024 data from the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association. That's partly because Uruguay sells much of its beef to the European Union, which has long worked to rid its supply chains of ties to deforestation and requires individual traceability at least 90 days before cattle are slaughtered. Most big ranchers interviewed by Reuters see cattle tagging as an unavoidable path forward, though some fear Para is moving too fast for farmers to adapt and would like the policy to be watered down. Quagliato declined to say how big his herd is or how many of his cattle he had tagged. Local publications have estimated his herd size to be around 150,000 cattle. Ranchers told Reuters they are waiting to comply until the legal deadline comes closer, because they want to make sure it won't be delayed as many observers expect. Some also complained about technical glitches in the system to register cattle, which the government denies. Still, the project has gained support from both the meat packing industry and environmental groups. São Paulo-based JBS, the world's biggest meat packer, has donated 300,000 tags to the program so far. "I'm optimistic," said Marina Guyot, a policy manager at Imaflora, a nonprofit that received a grant from Bezos to help implement the policy. "At the moment, we have political will, which is more than half the way there." 'IT SCARES US' Alaion Lacerda's 50-strong cattle herd at the heart of Para state munch on grass alongside cocoa growing beneath the shade of native trees he planted. He is one of thousands of small producers at the bottom of Brazil's supply chain, providing young calves that bigger ranchers will fatten and sell to slaughterhouses. But, like about half the cattle in Para, his herd is grazing in areas where the rainforest was illegally razed, and he now wonders if the new law will make it harder for him to sell his cattle. "It scares us," he said, sitting on his porch. "We live in a region where almost all producers have a liability." Every day satellites collect visual data on deforestation that the government and meat packers use to mark farms where forests were illegally razed. But tagging will allow officials to geo-locate cattle with a swiping device. The tool could make it harder for farmers to say cattle that were reared in illegally deforested areas came from legal farms, said Ricardo Negrini, a federal prosecutor who monitors links to deforestation in the beef supply. But the program, he added, "still falls short in terms of environmental standards," partly because the tags only geolocate animals at specific moments, allowing ample time for bad-faith producers to move cattle without being noticed. "Whatever you want to control, you can't catch everything," said Raul Protazio Romao, the head of Para's environmental department. "You have to progressively implement control mechanisms that constantly evolve and close gaps." Lincoln Bueno, a big rancher whose family also controls beef exporter Mercurio, said he is not yet tracing his cattle because he fears he may be punished for buying from small suppliers who have illegally deforested plots in their land. "I can only do what I am able to comply with," he said. Convincing ranchers like Bueno and Lacerda to tag their cattle is Para's biggest challenge. It's why the government now allows farmers who have illegally cleared forest on their ranches in the past to clear their records by committing to allowing the forest to grow back. On a recent morning, agricultural analysts from a nonprofit called Solidaridad, visited several small ranchers who they hoped would enter the program. Some were open to the idea that cleaning up their records would have benefits. Others, like Lacerda, were more skeptical. "For me to reforest, isolate the area so I can be legal, I'm going to have to reduce the number of animals," he said. But that, he added, "will affect my income."
