Stock Take

Dalata posts record profits for first half of the year

Shares are up almost 30 per cent, valuing the hotel group at just under €920 million

Dermot Crowley, chief executive of Dalata, has signalled that the company plans to further increase its portfolio of hotels. Picture: Fergal Phillips

Shareholders in Dalata will have been happy last week when the board of the company declared an interim dividend of 4 cent.

In doing so, Ireland’s largest hotel group will return almost €9 million to its shareholders after it posted record profits for the first six months of this year.

The dividend was higher than the 2.5 cent forecast by analysts at Goodbody, with Covid-19 restrictions now appearing to be a distant memory for the ...