July 27 (SeeNews) - Croatian hotel operator Valamar Riviera [ZSE:RIVP-R-A] said on Thursday its consolidated EBITDA rose 5.1% on the year to 90.7 million kuna ($14.3 million/12.2 million euro) in the first half of the year.
The company's total revenues increased 12.7% to 571.5 million kuna through June, while sales revenues rose 22.0% on the year to 512.1 million kuna, it said in a filing with the Zagreb bourse.
Valamar recorded a 29.7% growth in overnight stays to 1,861,460 in the review period, while accommodation units sold increased 18% to 924,412.
By the end of last year, Valamar Riviera concluded a management contract regarding the management of peer Imperial Rab properties and facilities. The contract has been implemented as of January 4, 2017, and has boosted the company's results.
All Valamar destinations and products recorded higher accommodation and board revenues through June, led by Porec with 892,744 overnights, up 16% year-on-year, and board revenues of 178.3 million kuna, up 19%.
The company's largest series of investments worth over 900 million kuna was completed through June. Most of the investments were focused on the projects in Rabac (Family Life Bellevue Resort 4* and Valamar Girandella Resort 4*/5*), the development of premium camping resorts, and a range of other smaller projects related to the improvement of quality, operating efficiency and energy savings, as well as the acquisition of Imperial.
The supervisory board of Valamar Riviera approved the 2018 investments totaling 704 million kuna, thus pursuing the company strategy to reposition the hotel and camping portfolio towards products and services with high added value.
The Valamar group runs hotels, apartment villages and campsites in Istria and in Dubrovnik and on the Adriatic islands of Krk, Pag and Rab.
Tourism is a key industry for Croatia, generating around a fifth of the country's gross domestic product.
(1 euro=7.41458 kuna)