M&C Hotels third qtr results helped by Olympics

Nov 2 (Reuters) - Hotelier Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Plc reported a 2.6 percent rise in group revenue per available room - a key industry metric - helped by the 2012 London Olympics.

The company, whose brands include Millennium, Grand Millennium, Copthorne and Kingsgate, said London revenue per available room increased 20 percent for the quarter ended Sept. 30.

Profit before tax fell 45 percent to 38.1 million pounds ($61.50 million) on a reported currency basis.

Profit before tax in the year-ago quarter included a 33.8 million pound gain from the sale of development land in Kuala Lampur.

Third-quarter revenue fell 21 percent to 191.2 million pounds. Revenue from hotels fell nearly 4 percent to 187.7 million pounds.

The company said it was yet to assess the full impact of the storm Sandy on its New York operations.

M&C shares were down 1.8 percent at 502.5 pence at 0828 GMT on the London Stock Exchange on Friday.