Accor posted one of the strongest gains on the CAC40 on Friday morning, rising around 4%. The hotel group published solid Q1 results on Thursday evening. Revenue rose 9.2% y-o-y, to €1.35bn. Despite the climate of high uncertainty, the group is reassuring investors by reporting "still strong" demand in its markets.
"Accor has posted an encouraging Q1, with revenue per available room (RevPar) growth broadly in line with expectations at 5%," analysts at JPMorgan said. The consensus expected a 4.6% increase. RevPar is the preferred indicator for the hotel sector.
These results were driven by the luxury and lifestyle segment, where RevPar grew by 8.3%, while the economy, midscale and premium segment posted lower growth of just 3.4%. As we pointed out in January, this is Accor's strategy, which relies on high-end customers to drive its growth.
Despite the highly uncertain environment, the group has confirmed its medium-term forecasts, which suggest annual RevPar growth of 3% to 4%. "Our diversified geographic positioning and leadership in the most promising markets enable us to continue to grow in a more volatile geopolitical and economic environment," CEO Sébastien Bazin said.
After posting the best performance on the CAC40 in 2024 (+36%), the stock is down nearly 10% YTD. The decline began in mid-February in the wake of analysts' reductions to earnings estimates. It remains to be seen whether today's results will reverse this trend.
