PARIS—Accor’s global chief financial officer reiterated Tuesday the company’s plan to not spin off its property assets into a separate company.
“It is not today in our strategy of the group,” CFO Sophie Stabile said during a conference call with analysts.
She added, “We will accelerate what we have already presented to you. … There are no changes in terms of the structure of the group.”
French newspaper Les Échos this week reported that Accor’s biggest shareholder, Colony Capital, urged Accor to consider spinning off its property assets to create value. In an email to Reuters on Monday, the company said it had no plans to split off the group but could consider breaking it out as a separate reporting line.
More details of the company’s strategy will be revealed 22 February when Accor details its full fourth-quarter earnings, she said.
Asset-light progress
Stabile said the company is making good progress in its asset-light strategy. A total of approximately 38,700 rooms were added to Accor’s system during 2011, 95% of which were under the asset-light hotel model, which includes franchise contracts, management contracts and variable leases. The company has more than 4,200 hotels in its portfolio comprising more than 500,000 rooms.
The company’s pipeline for 2012 is 40,000 rooms. “We are confident to reach this target,” she said, adding that the company’s franchise brands are expanding quickly.
Accor has been aggressively pursuing its asset-light strategy through dispositions, too. Most recently, the company sold the 250-room Mercure Warszawa Fryderyk Chopin in Warsaw, Poland, for €31 million (US$39.77 million). In Poland alone, Accor sold approximately €100 million (US$128.27 million) worth of assets during 2011.
Stabile said the transactions environment in 2012 is likely to mirror 2011.
2012 outlook
Despite a difficult operating environment, Stabile said the company is optimistic about the outlook for 2012.
“Demand remains at high levels in our key markets,” she said.
Booking pace seems strong in the early going of 2012, but Stabile said it is too early to tell how that will hold up.
“We have enjoyed increased pricing power throughout (2011) and that has translated to (revenue-per-available-room) growth,” she said.
Accor saw increases in RevPAR, excluding tax, across its segments during 2011. RevPAR for subsidiary and managed upscale and midscale hotels in Europe grew by 6.2%; economy and managed hotels grew by 5.7%; and economy hotels in the United States jumped by 5.2%.