Luxury hotel operator Shangri-La Asia said yesterday its net profit tumbled 88.3 per cent in the first half as the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome hurt demand for travel.

But the company expects business to return to normal levels in the September-November peak season, and is planning to raise room rates in select markets early next year.

"Room rates throughout the region have been depressed since '97," Shangri-La Asia Chief Executive Giovanni Angellini told a results briefing. "Next year, there's room for us to move our rates up by 5 to 10 per cent," he said.

The Hong Kong-based company, which runs 41 hotels and resorts in Asia Pacific, posted a net profit of US$5.6 million in the six months ended in June, down from US$47.93 million a year ago.

Turnover fell to US$221.98 million from US$290.21 million.

Average occupancy rates fell to 45 per cent from 61 per cent in the same period last year, while average room rates dipped to US$87 from US$91.

The company's hotels saw their average yield, or revenue per available room, slip 28 per cent to US$41 in the first half.

Shangri-La Asia said its earnings were also hurt by a US$8.7 million write-off of fixed assets following major renovations to its hotel in Singapore.

The company recommended an interim dividend of 6 HK cents, down from 7 HK cents in the year-ago period.

Shares in Shangri-La added 4.41 per cent to HK$7.10 in thin trade yesterday. They had gained more than 38 per cent in the three months to Thursday's close on hopes for a rebound in travel-related industries.

The hotelier says signs of a gradual recovery in travel and hotel occupancies have emerged after the SARS outbreak.

But the performance of the global economy and security concerns in some parts of the region will be key factors affecting its operations outside the mainland, the company said.

Shangri-La Asia is upbeat about its business on the mainland, where the economy is growing rapidly and both international arrivals and domestic travel are increasing.

In Hong Kong, the company expects to benefit from a higher inflow of mainland tourists in the longer term.

"In the longer term, all hotels in Hong Kong will benefit," said Angellini, though acknowledging that most mainland tourists choose to stay in more affordable two and three-star hotels.

About 8 per cent of the revenue from Shangri-La Asia's Hong Kong hotels comes from mainland tourists.

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