Led by Mauritian Lagesse family, LUX Island Resorts gains $14.6 million in 20 days

Mauritian luxury hotel operator, LUX Island Resorts Limited (Lux Resorts), has accrued a total gain of MUR630.7 million ($14.6 million) on all its issued shares in the past 20 days, as shares in the company surged by double digits on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius.

Lux Resorts is a leading luxury hotel operator and resort owner, with active operations and properties in Mauritius, Maldives, China, France and Vietnam.

The hotel operator is an affiliate member of Ireland Blyth Limited, a Mauritius-based diversified conglomerate led by Group CEO Arnaud Lagesse.

Represented by Thierry and Pascale Lagesse, the Lagesse family holds an indirect stake in the company through IBL’s ultimate holdings of a 56.5-percent stake in the hotel operator.

As of press time, Dec. 23, Lux Resorts shares on the Mauritian bourse were trading at a price of MUR43.6 ($1.01), 46-basis points lower than their opening price this morning.

Data gathered by Billionaires.Africa revealed that shares in the Mauritian luxury hotel operator at the opening of business and trading on Dec. 3 were worth MUR39 ($0.901) per share.

Bargain hunters in search of short-term yields acquired shares in the company, spurring the company’s share price to surge by nearly 12 percent to MUR43.6 ($1.01).

As a result of the surge in Lux Resorts’ share price, the company’s market capitalization increased from MUR5.3 billion ($123.6 million) on Dec. 3 to MUR6 billion ($138.2 million). This led to a gain of MUR630.7 million ($14.6 million) on all its issued shares in the past 20 days.

So far this year, the valuation of the Mauritian luxury hotel operator has risen by more than 63 percent thanks to sustained buying interest by investors on the bourse.

At the end of the first quarter of its 2022 financial year (Q1 2022), which ended in June 2021, Lux Resorts reported a three-digit, 107-percent expansion in its revenue from MUR329.8 million ($7.62 million) in Q1 2021 to MUR681.45 million ($15.77 million) in Q1 2022, as Mauritius reopened its borders to international travelers in phases.

Despite the triple-digit expansion in revenue, the company’s earnings power was significantly pressured by losses amounting to MUR323.35 million ($7.51 million), 11.4-percent less than the losses of MUR364.9 million ($8.47 million) reported in the corresponding quarter last year.