Gulf Hotels Group, owner of the Gulf Hotel and the Ocean Paradise Resort in Zanzibar, has posted a record net profit of BD8.91 million ($23.6 million) for last year.

The figure represented a growth in net profit of BD3.250 million or 57.4 per cent compared to 2007, and was the highest since the company's inception in 1967.

Gross operating revenues of BD29.60 million exceeded 2007 by BD6.55 million or 28.4 per cent.

The results were announced at the company's annual general meeting at the Gulf Hotel.

Shareholders approved a dividend payout of BD4 million representing 30 per cent, or 30 fils per share.

They further approved director's fees of BD139,500, charity donations of BD228,551 and BD10,000 towards national promotional activities.

'It has been an outstanding year for Gulf Hotels Group,' chairman Farouk Almoayyed said at the meeting.

He said that the construction of a 12-storey car park and office block (Gulf Executive Offices) at the Gulf Hotel is well underway, with completion estimated for the final quarter of this year.

This will boost the hotel's car parking capacity with an additional 600 bays and create 7,000 square metres of prime office space for rent.

Chief executive officer Aqeel Raees said that the 2007 refurbishment of the Gulf Hotel's Tower Block paid rich rewards last year.

He said that the hotel's restaurants continued to play a leading role and the number of guests, who visited the Gulf Hotel's restaurant and banquet facilities reached 617,532 by far the highest within the five-star market.

He announced the development of a 90-seat Mexican Restaurant in the hotel, which is expected to be completed by mid-2009. This will take the inventory of the Gulf Hotel's fine dining restaurants to nine and offer customers authentic Mexican cuisine in keeping with the hotel's strong reputation.

Additional plans included development of four executive meeting rooms on the top floor of the hotel's Tower Block, offering customers unrivalled, up-market meeting facilities.

Finally, the Gulf Convention Centre will be given a facelift this summer.

The company's capital reinvestment this year will be more than BD10 million.-TradeArabia News Service