BHL strategises on business growth
Blantyre Hotels Limited (BHL) says growth and recovery plan post-Covid-19 is on the right track buoyed by a number of revenue-generating measures the Malawi Stock Exchange-listed firm has instituted.
Speaking during a stakeholders’ forum in Blantyre on Thursday, BHL general manager Farrukh Maqbool said the company will soon return to profitability and give returns to its shareholders.
He said: “We want our shareholders to have confidence that after the Covid-19 which hit the hospitality sector hard, we are back on our feet.
“Our room occupancy levels have increased and other services on offer have also picked up.”
Maqbool said to generate more revenue, the firm has come up with a number of streams, including establishing a pool-side restaurant.
He said: “The pool-side restaurant has provided additional space as it can cater for about 350 people.
“This means we have grown our space and we are making significant revenues from the same.”
One of the shareholders, Lovemore Tinto, said they remain patient and hopeful with the plans the company has put in place.
“Every shareholder looks out for a return after an investment. We have missed out on returns from this company over the last two years for obvious reasons,” he said.
Meanwhile, BHL has initiated a K4.2 billion shareholders loan to fund its loan facility obtained from National Bank of Malawi plc for its Lilongwe hotel project.
In the year ended December 31 2022, BHL reported a loss of K290 million. This is on top of another loss of K751 million in the previous year, which was attributed to financing costs of K339 million for its Lilongwe hotel project.
BHL, which owns Protea by Marriot Hotel Blantyre Ryalls, is 34.34 percent owned by Nico Life Insurance Company, 32.15 percent by Africap LLC, 26.30 percent by Press Trust while the public owns 7.21 percent.
