Hotel and property group Bonvests Holdings has seen its third quarter net profit nearly doubled to $5.6 million from $2.9 million in the same period last year.

Revenue for the three months to Sept 30 rose by 14.4 per cent to $47.5 million.

This was due mainly to higher revenue from the hotel and industrial divisions, partly offset by lower revenue from the property rental division.

Pretax profit increased by 61.7 per cent to $7.5 million.

This was due mainly to higher contributions from the hotel and industrial divisions, lower finance costs and higher interest income partly offset by lower contributions from the property rental and investment divisions.

Earnings per share firmed to 1.404 cents from 0.723 cent previously while net asset value per share climbed to $1.95 compared to $1.80 as at Dec 31.

Looking ahead, Bonvests said the property rental market in Singapore and Tunis is expected to remain stable in the near term.

The market conditions in the countries in which the hotel division operates are expected to remain challenging, it said.

Tender has been called for the construction of the group's second Maldives hotel and is expected to be awarded before the end of 2013.

Tender has also been called for the construction for the Group's hotel in Bintan and evaluation is ongoing.