Leading hospitality chain, Cresta Marakanelo, on Wednesday revealed pretax profits of P5.9 million for the six months to June 30, bouncing back from losses of P35.3 million in the previous corresponding period. Commenting on the results, Cresta directors said the removal of COVID-19 restrictions, including alcohol sales and travel limitations, had resulted in a return to profitability on the back of increased occupancies during the period under review. While the first quarter of the year was low in line with the seasonality of the business, it was still an improvement from the previous corresponding period during which the State of Emergency was still in effect. Business at Cresta strongly picked up in the second quarter of the reporting period which contributed 55% of the total revenues of P164.9 million recorded over the half year. Directors said besides increased occupancies, Cresta’s numbers also benefited from cost reduction measures “some of which will be continued for the long term, even after the pandemic has been contained”. The hospitality group also benefited from a P3.5 million tax credit, allowing Cresta to post after-tax profits of P9.4 million for the period.