Thailand’s fourth-largest hotelier, Central Plaza Hotel, on Monday pared back its outlook for this year, projecting a drop in net profit and revising down its revenue target following a rise in costs.

The company, which runs 13 luxury hotels including those in the resort islands of Phuket and Samui, cited several reasons for the grimmer outlook — from Thailand’s four-year political crisis to an increase in costs from opening a new hotel.

“Our net profit this year will definitely be lower than 2008,” Ronnachit Mahattanapreut, senior vice president for finance, told reporters. “We have higher expenses from opening a new hotel,” he added.

Central Plaza earned a net profit of 324 million baht ($9.5 million) in 2008.

Ronnachit also projected revenue would grow between two and three percent this year, down from an earlier projection for a 10 percent rise.

According to earnings tracker Thomson Reuters, five analysts expected on average the company to report a net profit of 288.5 million baht this year, down about 11 percent from a year earlier.

Central Plaza, which competes with Minor International and Erawan Group, plans to spend 700 million baht in 2010 on its hotel business, down from 2.7-2.8 billion it invested this year, Ronnachit said.

Ronnachit said the government’s stimulus measures should help spur the industry in the second half of this year, predicting a small contraction in Thailand’s economy in 2009 and 2-3 percent growth in 2010.

“The high season is coming in the fourth quarter but this is really up to political factors, too,” Ronnachit added.