214-Room Berlin Hotel And Digital Upgrades Will Drive Success

Key Takeaways

• Strong booking trends and increased occupancy are expected to drive future revenue growth, supported by higher average room rates.
  
• Strategic initiatives, including digital enhancements and loyalty partnerships, aim to boost customer retention and improve operational efficiency and margins.
  
• Geopolitical tensions, rate declines, and increased costs in Finland threaten Scandic's revenue stability and profit margins, with uncertain returns on tech investments.

Catalysts

Engages in operation and franchising of hotels in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany, and Poland.

• Scandic is seeing strong booking trends for the spring and summer seasons, with expectations of increased average room rates and occupancy compared to last year, supporting future revenue growth.
  
• A new hotel with 214 rooms is planned to open in Berlin in the second half of 2026, part of efforts to grow their hotel portfolio, which is expected to provide a positive impact on future revenue.
  
• Strategic initiatives such as launching a new website and app to enhance customer experience, and a partnership with SAS enabling loyalty program status matching, are expected to improve customer retention and potentially boost revenue.
  
• The implementation of the workforce management platform, Quinyx, is anticipated to enhance scheduling efficiency, likely improving operational efficiency and margins.
  
• Potential efficiency improvements in central functions over time through digitalization and cost control measures could help mitigate inflationary pressures and positively impact net margins.

Scandic Hotels Group Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

• Analysts are assuming Scandic Hotels Group's revenue will grow by 4.0% annually over the next 3 years.
• Analysts assume that profit margins will increase from 3.4% today to 4.9% in 3 years time.
• Analysts expect earnings to reach SEK 1.2 billion (and earnings per share of SEK 5.45) by about May 2028, up from SEK 759.0 million today. However, there is a considerable amount of disagreement amongst the analysts with the most bullish expecting SEK1.6 billion in earnings, and the most bearish expecting SEK796.8 million.
• In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 23.5x on those 2028 earnings, up from 21.2x today. This future PE is greater than the current PE for the GB Hospitality industry at 14.2x.
• Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to grow by 7.0% per year for the next 3 years.
• To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 9.96%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

Scandic Hotels Group Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

• Geopolitical tensions and ongoing uncertainties in the markets could adversely impact future booking trends and revenue stability.
  
• Scandic's average room rate experiencing slight declines, especially due to adverse price developments in Finland, may pressure overall revenue.
  
• The increased capacity in Finland, particularly in Vanda, is negatively impacting occupancy rates and potentially compressing hotel room pricing, risking net margins.
  
• If cost inflation, particularly in labor or specific goods, exceeds the company's ability to increase room rates, this could squeeze profit margins over time.
  
• The anticipated costs associated with technological investments (e.g., new website, app, workforce management platform) may not yield the expected reduction in distribution costs or increased bookings, which could affect net earnings projections.

Valuation

• The analysts have a consensus price target of SEK82.786 for Scandic Hotels Group based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of SEK115.0, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just SEK55.0.
• In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be SEK24.9 billion, earnings will come to SEK1.2 billion, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 23.5x, assuming you use a discount rate of 10.0%.
• Given the current share price of SEK74.65, the analyst price target of SEK82.79 is 9.8% higher.
• We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.