Transcending from a legacy to a legend

The Nuwara Eliya Hotels Company PLC (Grand Hotel) recently published its annual report and financial results, showing the company’s impressive financial performance for the year ended 31 March by posting Rs. 988 million in revenues, which reflects an 18% growth over the previous year. 

The profit before tax grew by 9% over the corresponding year, reflecting a major achievement for the company. The company’s pre-tax profit and post-tax profits stood robustly at Rs. 358 million and Rs. 297 million respectively, increased by 15% and 9 % respectively from last financial year. 

The company’s Earnings Per Share for the period under review was Rs. 147.89 as against Rs. 136.04 in the previous year. The company maintained a consistent dividend policy during this year as well. Accordingly, the company paid a final dividend of Rs. 30 per share, compared to previous year’s dividend of Rs. 22.50 per share. The dividend pay-out ratio is 17.34% compared to previous year’s ratio of 16.53%.

Commenting on the company’s outstanding financial performance and the operations, Gerard Ondaatjie, Managing Director of The Nuwara Eliya Hotels Company PLC, said: “We are proud to achieve this strong financial growth as a result of focused strategic initiatives deployed during the year. The strategies undertaken included repositioning and rationalisation of hotel portfolio, identifying and targeting high potential market segments with constant customer-engagements and new value propositions. It is true that economies in the world are still showing a slow recovery. However, many are looking towards brighter horizons. Above all, the surge of global travel continues unabated with new markets opening up with opportunities that would have been unimaginable only a few years back. As I look ahead, I see good prospects on which to further develop our hotel business.”

In keeping with its tradition of continuous improvement facilitating higher degree of guest satisfaction and comfort, the Grand Hotel – Nuwara Eliya is on a forward journey with several new facilities having been already added and a lot more in the pipeline. During the current year, the Barnes’ Fusion Grill was inaugurated to promote the new concept of dining. This outlet with its clear glass roof provides the ideal ambience for exclusive alfresco dining. A truly international grill menu consisting of sizzling steaks/lamb, poultry, seafood and Nuwara-Eliya greens are on offer for the discerning guests for dinner.  

With the inherent passion to provide “nothing but the best” to every guest dining at the Grand Hotel and to make their experience a very special and a unique one, the hotel embarked on a project to add an extra dining space of 1,650 Sqft to the ‘Barnes Hall,’ its main restaurant, plus an additional 1,175 Sqft of an outdoor terrace for both high tea and outdoor dining. The project will be completed and ready for guests by 1 November, with which facility the hotel would be able to undertake many outdoor/alfresco activities in the future, including events such as coffee mornings/evenings, jazz evenings.

The hotel also introduced a new concept menu, the ‘Lounge Menu’ (served in all lounges/lobby and the lawn in front of the hotel), which is an a la carte of finger food consisting appetisers, soups, main courses and desserts that could be partaken without the use of cutlery.

This is solely for the convenience of guests who would want to order and consume food whilst being seated at chairs and tables which aren’t meant for dining, whereby the use of cutlery would make them uncomfortable and inappropriate. Instead, whilst being comfortably seated and engaged in their conversations and sipping a drink of their choice or a cup of tea, they would be able to enjoy a full meal, satisfying their appetite to maximum.  

It is also envisaged to establish an Arabic fusion restaurant together with its own Shisha Lounge in the area which presently houses the gymnasium and the health club, once these facilities are relocated in their new surroundings. With the ever-increasing Arabian visitors to the Grand Hotel in particular and to Nuwara Eliya in general, it is foreseen that the Arabic dining option is certainly a way forward.   

The Grand is also working on a state-of-the-art ‘outside catering’ facility to be able to undertake private caterings at institutions and residences in the area, together with hosting small but high-end weddings at the hotel.

As a fitting proof to Grand Hotel’s high standards of culinary expertise and service, in January this year the Australian High Commission in Colombo invited the Grand Hotel to handle the catering at the then Australian High Commissioner’s farewell function which was attended by the entire diplomatic community and the cream of business community and State officials in Sri Lanka.

The Nuwara Eliya Hotels Company PLC emerged victorious once again walking away with the Bronze Award in the Hospitality Sector category at the prestigious CA Sri Lanka (The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka) Annual Report Awards Competition which covers 22 sectors and a total of 130 organisations from small business categories to large conglomerates.