The move will further reduce the leverage and have a “major impact” on the company, he said without identifying hotels that will be brought under the planned REIT. Minor’s total liabilities stood at 255 billion baht ($7.3 billion) at the end of September, and the company’s target was to bring it down to half, Heinecke said.
With the peak holiday season ahead, Minor sees an “extremely strong” performance in the last quarter of this year which will sustain into the first quarter of 2025, Heinecke said. Despite a slowdown in China, the tycoon foresees strong growth in the rest of the world, especially in the Middle East and Europe with not “much of a hiccup” expected over the next six months.
“We’re seeing the whole travel and tourism recovering quite quickly,” Heinecke told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday. “Rates are much higher, whether airlines fares or hotel room rates, and we’re seeing occupancy slightly higher too.”
Shares of Minor rallied as much as 7.8%, the biggest intraday gain in more than two years, while the benchmark Thai stock index advanced 1.3%.
Minor’s core profit growth remained strong despite net income being hit by the currency fluctuations in the third quarter, Heinecke said. The company reported net income of 4.12 billion baht in the first nine months, down 7% from the same period a year ago due to volatilities in the Thai baht against the US dollar.
Minor currently has over 560 hotel properties in 57 countries, with most of its business in Europe through NH Hotel Group SA, which it acquired in 2018. The company also runs more than 2,600 restaurant outlets in 24 countries, with the majority located in Thailand.
The company is pushing ahead with its global expansion plans, especially where it has no presence currently, Heinecke said. Minor may announce its foray into Japan early next year and is due to open a hotel in Singapore in 2026, he said.
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The American-born Thai founder of Minor was also upbeat about the outlook for tourism in the Southeast Asian nation. The third season of hit television series The White Lotus — set to air in early 2025 — will give Thai tourism a major boost and push foreign tourist arrivals beyond even a government target of 40 million, he said.
Five Minor-owned hotels were used as filming locations, including four in Samui and one in Phuket, he said.
“This promises to be a barn burner and probably one of the brightest spots in the Thai tourism market,” said Heinecke. “We’re looking at 45 million foreign tourist arrivals next year. We think the numbers are going to be very strong for Thailand.”
