Jurys Doyle expects fall in profits

Jurys Doyle Hotels has signalled that its half-year profits will be marginally down on the previous year because of the downturn in the tourist industry in its key markets, the UK, the US and Ireland.

Addressing shareholders at the annual general meeting yesterday, chairman, Mr Richard Hooper, said that if these business trends continue into the second half of this year pre-tax profits will be adversely affected. "Nevertheless, we are confident that we will continue to out-perform our peers in all our chosen market segments, in occupancy and achieved room rates and in building first class products for the future" he said.

The group's chief executive, Mr Pat McCann, said it was not providing guidance for investors in terms of the impact on its profits but said it was difficult to see any improvement in the short-term.

"It is quite difficult to say how soon things will pick-up. There are some positive developments such as US Airways flights into Ireland, the Aer Lingus flights to Baltimore and British Airways is also offering good deals through London."

Mr McCann said London was experiencing the greatest downturn on the back of the war and the Sars outbreak. "Guns and tanks at Heathrow Airport didn't help either" he added after its annual meeting yesterday.

But the group insists these circumstances will not impact on its expansion plans. It has begun to build the new 253 bed Jurys Inn on Dublin's Parnell Street which will be leased when completed. In February it announced plans to develop a new Jurys Inn at Heathrow Airport, the fourth Inn in the London area. In total it has seven properties in the city representing almost 1,600 bedrooms.