THE Gleneagles Hotel has seen its operating profits rise almost 69% in spite of investing in improvements ahead of the Ryder Cup later this year.
Accounts just filed at Companies House show the five-star Auchterarder resort brought in £38.8 million of revenue in the 12 months to the end of June 2013. That was up 6% from £36.7m recorded in the previous financial year.
While operating costs rose from £36.2m to almost £38m, the uplift in turnover for 2013 saw operating profits go from £504,000 to £852,000.
Finance director David Kemp said room sales rose 4% in the year with the average rate paid steady.
Dining options, which include the likes of Andrew Fairlie's Michelin-starred restaurant, also performed strongly.
Mr Kemp said: "The room sales growth in 2013 arose mainly from increased numbers of celebration events and corporate meetings, although the majority of Gleneagles' customers continue to be families and friends enjoying holidays and short breaks.
"Our food and beverage operation experienced an excellent year with growth in revenue of 8% reflecting the recent investment in the restaurants and bars at Gleneagles - for example, the £3m refurbishment of the Dormy Clubhouse in 2011 and the installation of its whisky room, The Blue Bar."
However a £648,000 write-down related to upgrading works meant pre-tax profits fell from £591,000 to £292,000.
Mr Kemp said: "In the 2013 financial year we started a £5m upgrade to our Club facilities, which included a complete redesign and refurbishment of our pools and changing rooms.
"This upgrade resulted in a fixed asset write-down of £648,000 and is the reason why our profit before taxation of £262,000 is lower than the previous year.
"We have been delighted with the very positive feedback from guests and members on our new Club offering following its completion in January of this year."
Within its operating costs Gleneagles, which is owned by Diageo, saw raw material charges go up from £6.5m to almost £6.9m while marketing spending grew from £1.6m to £1.8m.
Average staff numbers were up from 851 to 869 with a mixture of full and part time people being added. Total employee costs rose from £15.2m to £15.6m.
Directors' remuneration increased from £374,000 to £494,000.
Along with Mr Kemp, chairman Peter Lederer, long serving chief executive Patrick Emslie and Diageo finance head Deirdre Mahlan were the others listed as directors in the accounts, The document says both Ms Mahlan's and Mr Lederer's emoluments were paid by other Diageo group companies. A payment of £1.6m was made in the financial year to the Diageo pension plan, slightly ahead of the £1.57m contribution in the previous 12 months.
Mr Kemp said Gleneagles had seen further growth in business volumes in the current trading year while it continues to invest in improvements in the run up to the Ryder Cup.
He added: "We expect the Ryder Cup will provide great opportunities to grow the profile of Gleneagles and help to support the substantial investment that we have committed in preparing for this event."
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