Smeralda Holding – an Italian company controlled by the sovereign fund Qatar Investment Authority and owner of real estate assets and land along the Costa Smeralda since 2012 – will close the tourist season 2017 with numbers and presence in strong growth . Regarding the presences during the summer, Smeralda Holding has registered a growth of over 7% compared to 2016 ; (with a peak of +9.1% ; for the Hotel Cala di Volpe), thanks to the strategic decision to extend the hotel opening and closing period of about five weeks – generating a positive effect also on the Group’s financial statements, which estimates to close the year 2017 with € 94.6 million in revenues (+ 8.5% compared to 2016) and an EBITDA of € 28.9 million, up by 15.9%.
The Smeralda Holding portfolio consists of four hotels (Cala Di Volpe, Romazzino, Pitrizza and Cervo) , the Marina of Porto Cervo (one of the most important ports in the Mediterranean) , the shipyard , the Pevero Golf Club , to which are added other minor assets such as shops, offices, apartments, bars, restaurants and 51% of a JV that owns 2,300 hectares of coastal land . The top three hotels in the Group are among the 10 hotels with the highest average revenue per room in the world.
Smeralda Holding closed its balance sheets with revenues steadily growing over the years – € 75 million (2013), € 79 million (2014), € 82 million (2015), € 87 million (2016) – and has recorded in the last two years, under the guidance of Mario Ferraro , managing director of all the Group’s operating companies and vice president of the Costa Smeralda Consortium – awarded during his career as a best hotel manager of Europe and with experiences as General Manager at the JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa, Conrad Dubai, Hilton Molino Stucky Venice and as Area General Manager Sicily for THI Hotels, after being General Manager of San Domenico Palace Taormina – excellent performance of Ebitda .
For 2018 Smeralda Holding provides an investment of around 30 million euro , part of a five year plan where, until 2022, it will allocate € 120 million to asset restructuring projects, enhancement of the territory and increase of entertainment activities. The Cala di Volpe will have seventy rooms completely renovated, a Spa will be open at the Romazzino and the Pitrizza Spa will be reopened to give answers to the ever increasing demand for wellness, while a beach club will be built at Cala di Volpe and the Cala Petra Ruja will be renewed. The work plan provides for the execution of at least 30% of the works before the summer season, 70% by the end of 2018. All planned interventions fall within the criteria of environmental sustainability that have always characterized the Group’s activities in Sardinia – as well as those of the Sovereign Fund of Qatar in the world – both for the respect of the territory and the Sardinian population with which the Group operates with the utmost harmony and involvement to preserve and protect the priceless heritage of the Costa Smeralda.
The Group also aims at a diversification of the offer of the twenty restaurants and bars, through the development of local food and wine and the introduction of the distinctive concept of international catering brands (including Novikov).
The investments of the five-year plan will generate significant repercussions on the territorial economy and the creation of hundreds of jobs from the current 1000 professionals (including seasonal) to 1400 units, all mainly from Sardinia (more than 90%). Every year Smeralda Holding contributes significantly to the growth of the Gallurese economy with over 20 million euros of salaries and salaries (23 considering also the Consorzio Costa Smeralda) and with more than 16 million euros in purchases from suppliers, of which about 6 million euros only in food & beverage.
“The results of the summer season just ended – states Mario Ferraro , managing director Smeralda Holding – in addition to being a source of pride, represent a confirmation and an incentive to experiment with further strategies that converge on the target, the extension of the season, which we are pursuing, directly and indirectly, with the projects of the five-year plan. The investments allocated will serve to consolidate the position of the Group’s structures, always at the highest levels of supply and quality, both in logistics and in service. And as always the benefits of our resourcefulness also concern a territory and a population that we want to grow together with us, sharing the ambition and the emotion of working in one of the most important destinations of the world tourism market. Thanks to an important investment plan, of 30 million euros for 2018 and about 120 million euros up to 2022, we aim to modernize and retrain our facilities, to make them even more competitive. ”
Milan / Porto Cervo, December 14th 2017