Mr Salwin: significant and steady progress

    Company 'buffeted' by resources weakness

ASPEN Group, which operates holiday and accommodation parks throughout Australia, has suffered an $18.2 million first-half loss.

It comes on the back of an unexpected $12 million write-down in the value of its Karratha mining camp, which suffered a dramatic drop in demand for accommodation during the unforeseen slowdown in the resources sector.

Results for the half-year ending December 2014 also revealed a before-tax operating profit of $7.8m, six percent down on last year's corresponding period.

The fall largely reflected the sale of non-core office and industrial properties, counterbalancing reductions in overhead and non-core development costs.

Despite the figures, Aspen declared an interim dividend of 4.5c per unit.

Group executive officer Clem Salwin said there still continued to be "significant, steady progress" towards the company becoming a leading accommodation provider.

"Externally the business continues to be buffeted by the ongoing weakness in the resources sector," he said.

"Prices for some key resource commodities collapsed during the period.

"This has had consequences to the performance and the carrying value of the Aspen Group properties servicing that sector."

Mr Salwin said Aspen's underlying accommodation business in the residential and short-stay sectors was performing "very well", with net income up 12 percent and improvements in margins.

"With a positive outlook, strong demographics and our strong balance sheet position, we will continue to look to invest in the accommodation sector," he said.

Mr Salwin has rejected suggestions the group would look to back its unlisted Aspen Parks Property Fund ‒ now firmly focused on caravan parks ‒ into the head stock.