Trans Asia Hotels PLC, owners of the Hotel Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo, has posted a loss of Rs.41.2 million in the six months ended September 30, 2009, down from a profit of Rs.32.4 million a year earlier.

This was attributable to the closure of the hotel for repair and refurbishing earlier this year following damage caused by a LTTE air attack near Air Force Headquarters in Colombo.

The hotel re-opened on September 1, re-branded as Cinnamon Lakeside, having undergone restoration and refurbishment costing Rs.444 million.

The second quarter ended September 30, 2009 saw a loss of Rs.69 million, down from a profit of Rs.28.4 million a year earlier, according to an interim financial statement by the owning company now with shareholders.

The six-month loss translated to a loss per share of 82 cents against a profit of 65 cents in the first half of the previous year.

While the hotel segment of the business posted a loss of Rs.68.9 million after tax in the first half of the current financial year, its investment property segment with assets of over Rs.1.1 billion posted a profit of Rs.27.7 million reducing the overall loss of the company to Rs.41.2 million.

John Keells Holdings with 48.64% is the biggest shareholder of Trans Asia followed by Asian Hotels and Properties, also a JKH company owning the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, with 43.41%. Other major shareholders include the Ceybank Unit Trust with 2.12% and Mercantile Investments with 2.03%.