Mauritian tycoon Hector Espitalier-Noel’s ENL posts first profit in two years

ENL Limited, a Mauritian conglomerate led by renowned businessman Hector Espitalier-Noel, exited its loss position at the end of its 2022 fiscal year after reporting its first profit in two years due to the strong performance of its operating segments during the fiscal year.

According to figures in its recently published financial statement, the group earned MUR1.63 billion ($36.03 million) in profit at the end of its fiscal year 2022, compared to a loss of MUR1.07 billion ($23.66 million) the previous year, as it finally returned to profitability after two years of reporting losses.

ENL is a diversified conglomerate with more than 120 international and domestic brands in the agro-allied, real estate, hospitality, logistics, fintech, commerce and industrial sectors.

The affluent Espitalier-Noel family controls the Mauritius-based group, with members of the family serving as executives on the board.

Its strong financial performance can be attributed to a recovery in the group’s operations, which resulted in a 39-percent increase in revenue from MUR12.84 billion ($284 million) the previous year to MUR17.82 billion ($394.1 million).

Since the re-opening of the Mauritian borders on Oct. 1, 2021, there has been a pickup in the group’s operations, with its hospitality operations achieving a spectacular turnaround with a significant improvement in occupancy levels and revenue.

This, combined with a fair value gain of MUR246 million ($5.44 million), allowed the group’s hotel operations to return to a high level of profitability in 2022, with one of the group’s subsidiaries, New Mauritius Hotels, registering a profit for the year, compared to losses of MUR3.13 billion ($69.2 million) the previous year.

Aside from its hotel operations, its agro-industry operations, as well as its commerce and industry segments, performed well despite supply chain challenges that persisted throughout the year.

The group’s assets rose from MUR78.04 billion ($1.73 billion) to MUR82.84 billion ($1.83 billion) as a result of the financial performance, while total equity increased marginally from MUR41.06 billion ($908.16 million) to MUR43.6 billion ($964.3 million).