Improved profitability for hotel and restaurant industry in 1996

Limited companies operating in the hotel and restaurant industry improved their profitability, liquidity and financing structure from 1995 to 1996, but reduced their capital strength. Of all the main business groups in the hotel and restaurant sector, canteen and catering operations had the highest returns again in 1996.

Overall return on assets for the industry increased by 0.5 percentage point, to 7.3 per cent in 1996. Bar operations improved the most, increasing 5.6 percentage points to 12.8 per cent. Canteen and catering operations had the highest return on assets, with 17.6 per cent, up 1.2 per cent from 1995. Hotel operations increased by 0.2 percentage point to 6.2 per cent, while operation of restaurants and cafes increased by 0.8 per cent to 8.1 per cent.

Higher return on net capital

The return on net capital went up from nine per cent in 1995 to 12.2 per cent in 1996. Operation of bars had the highest value, with 85.3 per cent in 1996, and the biggest increase, with 93.7 percentage points. High debt financing is the main reason. Canteen and catering operations also had a high return on net capital in 1996, 56.1 per cent, which is nonetheless a decline of 0.4 percentage point from 1995. Hotel operations increased the return on net capital by 1.4 percentage points to 6.8 per cent, while operation of restaurants and cafes increased by 7.1 percentage points to 17.9 per cent.

New Statistics

Hotel and restaurant operations, 1996. Statistics of accounts.
Statistics are published annually in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics and Official Statistics of Norway (NOS) Statistics on Travel. More information: Stian Larsen, tel. +47 62 88 54 95, e-mail: sla@ssb.no, or Tom Granseth, tel. +47 62 88 54 06, e-mail: tog@ssb.no.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 11, 1998