Lux Island Resorts says full-year profit jumps

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Mauritius hotels group Lux Island Resorts reported a jump in pretax profit to 145.3 million rupees in its fiscal year to June 30 from 14.2 million, buoyed by its Maldives operation. The luxury hotel group, which has properties in the Maldives and Reunion as well as the Indian Ocean island, said full year occupancy rates fell 4 percent to 68 percent. However, revenue per available room, the hotel industry's widely used metric, grew by 1 percent as a result of a rise in the average daily room rate of 5 percent. Group revenue rose to 3.771 billion rupees from 3.714 billion and earnings per share climbed to 0.91 rupees from 0.24 rupees, the company said in a statement. Tourism typically generates about 10 percent of Mauritius's gross domestic product. European tourists account for two thirds of arrivals. The company said forward bookings for the second quarter ending December 31 compared favourably with the same period last year and it expected profit for the second half to improve significantly on the corresponding period a year ago. The results were posted after the market closed. Shares in Lux fell 0.7 percent to 28.20 rupees.