General Shareholders' Meeting 2019
CEO, Gabriel Escarrer Jaume Places Digital, Cultural and Sustainable Initiatives at The Fore of Meliá Hotels International's Growth Plans for 2019
Palma de Mallorca, June 19, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Meliá Hotels International held its Annual General Shareholders' Meeting on 18 June 2019, chaired by Gabriel Escarrer Juliá. Both the founder and Non-Executive Chairman of the Company and its Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, reviewed the positive 2018 results with shareholders, a record year for Net Profit and EBITDA, the achievements within the 2015-2018 Strategic Plan, and the outlook and strategy for the future.
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Summary 2015-2018
Gabriel Escarrer Jaume released the main advances made in each of the six areas which have formed the backbone of the group strategy over the past three years:
- Leadership in the resort and urban leisure hotel segments, for which he highlighted that more than 9,500 rooms had been added to the portfolio, 80 percent of which are in resorts or urban "bleisure" hotels (business + leisure), and that €1,100 million had been invested in renovating and repositioning hotels.
- Strengthening of corporate governance, highlighting progress made in the composition of the Board (54.5 per cent Independent Directors), internal policies and regulations, and AENOR certification for its criminal compliance system, becoming the first company in the industry to achieve certification. The addition of a new female Director raises the proportion of women on the Board to 27 per cent, and the Company stated its commitment to raise this figure to 36 per cent over the next two years.
- Progress towards becoming a more responsible and sustainable company, Escarrer highlighted Meliá’s commitment to the UN 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals and its inclusion in which Meliá’s inclusion as the third most sustainable hotel company in the world in the Silver Class category in the 2019 Sustainability Yearbook prepared by the Sustainable Investment Agency RobecoSAM. Escarrer also emphasised how the Group's environmental strategy (which achieved the highest rating in the RobecoSAM assessment for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index) has already eliminated single-use plastics in 68 per cent of the hotel portfolio and generated savings of 18.4 per cent in CO² emissions per stay. 54 per cent of the electrical energy that Company hotels consume worldwide now comes from renewable sources.
- People and talent management, in which the Company achieved important progress in talent management, digital training, and equality and diversity, with 33 per cent of managerial positions occupied by women, a figure which rises to 50 per cent when considering the talent pool for future hotel managers.
- Regarding digital transformation, after investing €130 million in the three years, Meliá reports significant progress, supported by a 68 per cent increase in online sales over the period and a 1,400 per cent increase in sales through mobile devices.
- Regarding the creation of value for shareholders, the Vice President of Meliá highlighted its leadership in RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room) growth in the industry for 34 consecutive quarters up to the end of 2018, with a 16 per cent increase between 2015 and 2018. He also emphasised the 20 per cent increase in asset value to €4,401 million and the increase of 250 per cent in Earnings per Share over the same period.
Three-pronged transformation
Meliá’s objectives include strengthening its leadership in the resort and urban leisure segments, completing its digital transformation and consolidating its position as a leading employer and responsible company. Mr Escarrer shared his key outlook for the group up to 2022:
- Cultural transformation, Meliá is committed to talent through an employer brand policy of support and training for employees. The employability of young people and digital skills and training will be a decisive factor in company’s competitiveness within the context of a generational turn and revolution in labour relations.
- Digital transformation, following its success in online sales and marketing, the company now aims to use technology and data to personalise and enhance the customer experience. Furthermore, the digitisation across the board aims to increase productivity and profitability, by improving working processes for employees through automating functions. This enables Meliá staff to focus on delivering better service and personalised experiences to guests.
- The transformation into a responsible and sustainable company is based on Meliá's current public commitments to extend the 360 Agenda to all areas. Focusing on assessing its environmental strategy, promoting employability and job creation, and the management of diversity and inclusion.
Outlook for 2019
Spanish tourism has entered "a somewhat more moderate growth cycle", which he referred to as "a new stage of more normal growth" in the industry following the artificial boost to demand in Spain over the last four or five years. This creates opportunities for Meliá who have diversified and repositioned their products and focused on digital development.
On a global level, Escarrer emphasised the uncertainty and challenges in both America and Europe, although he believes that most of the subsequent consequences have already been overcome and expects recent openings to drive an improvement in results in areas such as Punta Cana, Cuba and Mexico.
Gabriel Escarrer also announced the decision to hold the pay-out ratio steady at 30per cent, implying the payment of a dividend per dhare of €0.1830 (+ 8.86 per cent).
The General Shareholders' Meeting was held with the required quorum and approved all the proposals were included in the Agenda.
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About Meliá Hotels International
Founded in 1956 in Mallorca (Spain), Meliá Hotels International operates more than 390 hotels (portfolio and pipeline) throughout more than 40 countries, with brands including Gran Meliá Hotels & Resorts, Paradisus by Meliá, ME by Meliá, Meliá Hotels & Resorts, INNSiDE by Meliá, Sol by Meliá and TRYP by Wyndham. The Company is the global leader in resort hotels, while also leveraging its experience to consolidate the growing segment of the leisure-inspired urban market. Its commitment to responsible tourism has led the Group to become the third most sustainable hotel company in the world in 2018, according to RobecoSam, the investment company to produce the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Meliá Hotels International is also included in the IBEX 35 Spanish stock market index and it is the Spanish hotel leader in Corporate Reputation (Merco Ranking). Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram www.meliahotelsinternational.com
Ava Malhotra Meliá Hotels International 2129815298 Ava_Malhotra@dkcnews.com
