Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Can I have your views on 7 Days Group, the Chinese discount hotel operator? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

7 Days Group (ADR), $9.48, symbol SVN on New York (Shares outstanding: 50.0 million; Market cap: $474.0 million; www.7daysinn.cn), is China’s second-biggest budget hotel operator, behind Home Inns & Hotels Management (ADR), symbol HMIN on Nasdaq. The company’s hotels operate under the 7 Days Inn brand. It now has a total of 1,044 hotels, consisting of 417 hotels operated by the company and 627 franchised hotels managed by the company. That gives it a total of 104,191 rooms across 162 cities. The company’s franchised hotels operate under the 7 Days Inn banner but are owned by third parties. 7 Days Group charges a fee to operate these hotels, including hiring managers and staff. In the three months ended June 30, 2012, 7 Days Group’s revenue rose 27.1%, to $99.6 million from $78.1 million a year earlier. Earnings per American Depositary Receipt (ADR) rose to $0.19 from $0.17. In the past year, the company has added a total of 425 hotels. It aims to…