Tourism group Tourism Holdings Ltd, which has its roots in Otago, announced a much improved profit and outlook but chairman Rob Campbell says there is more to be done.
Operating revenue for the company was up slightly at $226 million in the year ended June. Operating profit was up substantially at $18.3 million from $5.9 million and reported profit was $11.1 million, up from $3.8 million in the previous corresponding period.
Earnings per share were 10 cents per share, up from 3.6cps.
A 6cps share dividend was declared, partially tax-paid.
Mr Campbell said THL had fulfilled the commitments it made to shareholders a year ago.
''We cannot yet claim to be a successful company, but we will be.
"We have higher expectations for a company, expectations for growth and the development of a business model that is more robust, less capital intensive and focused on world-leading customer experiences.''
THL had enough confidence in the coming year to have set a forecast of at least $15 million for the profit after tax.
That represented a further increase of 35% on the 2014 profit, he said.
''Shareholders should expect more from us in the future. That is the expectation we have of ourselves.''
The company had been in a tax-loss position in New Zealand and would resume a cash tax-paying position next year, Mr Campbell said.
Chief executive Grant Webster said it was encouraging the turnaround in profitability was driven by both revenue growth in most business units and cost reductions.
The company focused on both.
''There is still lots of work to do in this business and we can now aggressively focus on growth strategies as well as ensuring returns improve on the current capital employed.''
