Boca Resorts Sees Net Income Jump by One-Third

BOCA RATON, FL-Boca Resorts Inc., a locally based company that owns and operates luxury resorts in the state, experienced a 34.7% increase in net income for the first quarter, compared with the same period last year.The publicly traded company had net income of $20.2 million, or 49 cents per diluted share, for the most recent quarter, up from $15 million, or 38 cents per diluted share, for the prior year period. For the last nine months, Boca Resorts had net income of $12.3 million, or 30 cents per diluted share, compared with net income of $5.6 million, or 14 cents per diluted share, for the same period a year earlier.Also for the most recent quarter, leisure and recreation revenue was $113.1 million, an increase from the $100.3 million for the 2003 first quarter. For the last nine months, this figure totaled $233.1 million, up from $213.6 million for the same period ended March 31, 2003.These revenue hikes mainly are attributed to occupancy increases at all of Boca Resorts’ properties. In the first quarter of this year, the company saw 15,820 more occupied room nights than it did during the same quarter last year, and 36,300 more occupied room nights in the most recent three quarters than during that period a year earlier. Resort occupancy hikes are attributed to an improving economy and enhancements to properties, among other things.The results for the first nine months of the fiscal year do not necessarily indicate the year’s performance, as the company’s resort operations are seasonal and the resorts have larger income, revenue and costs in its third and fourth fiscal quarters, which end June 30.Boca Resorts’ portfolio in Florida includes the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton; the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Resort and Marina, the Radisson Bahia Mar Resort and Yachting Center and Grande Oaks Golf Club in Fort Lauderdale; and the Registry Resort at Pelican Bay, the Edgewater Beach Hotel and Naples Grande Golf Club in Naples.