The chairman, Alfred Pisani, presented his annual address to a full auditorium of IHI shareholders during the Company’s Annual General Meeting, which took place on June 10 at the Radisson Hotel in St. Julian’s, Malta.
The chairman noted that first on the Company’s agenda has been the marketing of the sale of its hotel in Lisbon, “for which we are targeting a sale price in excess of our latest independent valuations. International brokers had been appointed and advanced offers are now being refined and negotiated.” Alfred Pisani informed the audience that, hopefully, such negotiations will be concluded within the next three months and that on conclusion of this sale later this year, IHI will embark on a similar process for its property in Prague some time in 2026.
IHI has also been working diligently to attract institutional investors. “The objective here is to secure funding for new investments, of which we have numerous under discussions. Discussions are progressing on several fronts, and we are confident that potential investors will recognise the strength and value of our Company IHI, and that negotiations are expected to reflect this through favourable terms in the share value being negotiated.”
Corinthia is today involved mainly in the hotel sector as an owner, a developer and an operator of hotels under its luxury Corinthia brand, and more recently its four-star brand under Verdi. “We are involved in 27 hotels on four continents, of which 16 are properties or projects in which we have some level of shareholding, the rest being hotels for which we provide management services and licence our Corinthia brand name in return for fees.”
Alfred Pisani noted that the combined value of IHI is captured in all of these activities. “As reflected in our financial statements, our net share value has increased from €1.00 to a combined €1.46 per share — a substantial uplift to the value reported in December 2023. This €1.46 is a combination of the €1.1 per share as shown in our consolidated Balance Sheet, and a further €0.36 per share for our service companies CHL and QP, which are not consolidated into our Group balance sheet in view of accounting standards. This increase, whilst still based on prudent parameters defined by stringent accounting standards, strengthens our position as we continue discussions with international investors.”
On the operational front, the chairman confirmed that Corinthia’s newly-opened hotel in New York, where it is acting as operators, has been positively welcomed by the high-profile market in New York and is performing well. “Much like the launch of the Corinthia London in 2011, when our brand reached new heights of recognition through the presence of flying our flag in this city, we also believe that our New York property will likewise give us a strong visibility in the American market, attracting more and more independent hotel developers and owners to seek our management expertise.
“Following this, we successfully opened Corinthia Brussels — a hotel of outstanding quality in which IHI owns a 50% shareholding — closely followed by Corinthia Bucharest, a luxury hotel where we provided project management services and now we operate on behalf of the owner. We now also look forward to inaugurating Corinthia Rome later this year.”
Alfred Pisani reminded the audience that, some time back, Corinthia had signed agreements to manage hotels in Dubai, Doha, Riyadh and the Maldives, which properties are now under active construction. He informed the shareholders that “CHL is also bidding and in some cases has also signed up to preliminary agreements to manage other hotels, especially in Italy where our project in Rome has paved the way for other investors and developers to seek our brand and management services.”
Additional welcomed information was shared about Corinthia’s development company CREV, which has also originated two luxury projects, one in Beverly Hills in the USA, and another on the Caribbean Island resort of Turks & Caicos. “In both cases, we have acted as the project originator and developer, raising finance from partner investors, and now going through the process of design and planning permits for a mixed hotel and residential project on both these locations, both of which will eventually be operated by our operating company Corinthia Hotels.”
The audience was informed that “the financial investors behind the Beverly Hills development will also be tapping into the Maltese capital market by raising a bond and subsequently expanding the footprint of the properties in this prime and prestigious location.” Subsequently, the bond was marketed and was fully subscribed.
These new openings and partnerships mark an exciting phase of growth and enhanced global recognition for Corinthia’s brand, reaffirming its commitment to excellence in hospitality.
The chairman then focused on QP. “We have also been growing QP substantially, and more important, beyond Malta, by opening offices in London and Dubai. QP is now securing increased international contracts, thereby diversifying its client base internationally and like our hotel management company, is now taking a position on the international scene.
“In this direction, QP concluded a significant partnership with API in Dubai for the development of a mixed-use project featuring a luxury hotel and branded residences. CHL will operate the hotel, while QP, will provide project management and other related design services.”
Alfred Pisani expressed his belief that, “In light of all this progress, and with continued optimism for the months ahead, the sale of assets on a phased manner and continued improving results from our businesses and new investments will place us in a position to get to a point where dividends become a regular feature of our business.
“However, circumstances focused priority on the Company’s growth of new management agreements, all of which required financial support in the pre-opening responsibilities and with the outcome that we first have to pay out before receiving management fees. We have no alternative to extending ourselves in the manner, as otherwise we would miss the opportunities of taking up new management agreements.
“A detailed analysis of our numbers in 2024 will show EBITDA – like for like – increasing over the prior year from €62 million to €68 million, of which a portion went towards the final investments to open our owned or leased hotels, as also towards paying interest on our loans. As we pay down debt, and our new hotels start generating income, 2025 and beyond is a period which will see us grow profits and new hotel operations. Our projections based on contracts already in hand indicate healthy and higher cash flows going forward.”
Alfred Pisani confidently asserted that this augured well for the future, and emphasised his trust in the exceptional management team, whose dedication to Corinthia’s growth is unwavering. “With the strategic oversight of the Board, I am positive that we will continue to achieve success across all fronts.”
The chairman concluded by expressing his respect to the shareholders for the trust and support they have shown towards their Company, and looked forward, hopefully within this year, to achieve the objectives that he had referred to in this report.
