Hobson Group earns $1.8M

Press, 20 March 1987, Page 10

Hobson Group earns $1.8M

Hobson Group, Ltd, the company formed from the merger of Queenstown Resorts, Ltd, the hotel group, and Hobson Developments, Ltd, the property company, earned a net profit of $l.B million in the six months to December 31.

Queenstown Resorts earned a net profit of $530,615 in the same period last year, but no figures are available on

Hobson Developments.

The directors said that the pre-tax profit was S2.IM, which included extraordinary profits of SI.2M from the sale of the group’s hotel trading. The projected annual pre-tax profit was S4M, they said. The Chateau Regency, Christchurch, was the only remaining hotel investment in the group. The company was im-

proving the Christchurch hotel, including refurbishing the existing buildings, adding 100 new rooms, expanding the restaurant facilities, and installing a swimming pool. The upgrading was necessary to improve the trading profits of the hotel. It should be completed by October, the directors said.

The company had property development pro-

jects with a completion value of $66.4M, which would give Hobson its base profits in the next 12 months.

The acquisition of further property development opportunities was continuing, particularly in Auckland. The investment division was focusing on expanding the presence of Hansells (N.Z), Ltd, in the food industry.