Delivers EBITDA Margin Expansion of 304 bps - Seven Hotels Signed with 1267 Rooms - Three Hotels Opened with 544 Rooms on Management Contracts

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), South Asia’s largest hospitality company reported its Consolidated and Standalone financials for the first quarter ending June 30th 2019. 

These financials reported are in line with the new accounting lease standards (Ind AS 116) effective 1st April 2019. 

Commenting on the performance, Mr. Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IHCL, said “Despite the macro-economic headwinds, we have stayed on track in delivering our promise as outlined in Aspiration 2022. The Company reported a topline growth of 6% and an EBITDA growth of 32% . Margin expansion stood at 304 bps. Both the absolute EBITDA of Rs.166 crores as well as the EBITDA margin of 15.68% are the highest for Q1 for the last 10 years (on a like-to-like comparison pre IND AS 116). The Company continued its growth journey by signing 7 hotels with 1267 rooms. It also opened 3 hotels in this quarter in key strategic markets like Goa and Agra.”

In line with the Company’s vision to scale up and create greater enterprise value, IHCL entered into a strategic partnership with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC for an investment platform to the tune of Rs. 4000 crores or USD 600 million.

Aligned with its re-imagined Brandscape, the Company launched a new hotel brand with 12 hotels - “SeleQtions”, which is a collection of named and distinctive hotels and relaunched Chambers, India’s most iconic business club. 

Mr. Giridhar Sanjeevi, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, IHCL said “The Company continued its efforts in monetization of non-core assets amounting to Rs. 35 crores in the quarter. We remain focused on debt management. Recently we have unwound historical swaps of Rs. 120 crores mitigating related forex volatility. 

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

  • IHCL announced a strategic partnership with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC for an investment platform to the tune of Rs. 4000 crores or USD 600 million over a period of 3 years to acquire operational hotels in India.
  • The Company signed 7 hotels across brands with an inventory of 1267 keys. These include Taj Ahmedabad; Taj Hotel & Convention Centre, Agra; Ginger Amravati; Ginger Dwarka; Vivanta Gorakhpur; SeleQtions Jaipur and Vivanta Noida.
  • IHCL opened 3 hotels in the quarter – Taj Hotel & Convention Centre, Agra; Cidade de Goa and Ginger Dwarka.
  • The Company launched a new hotel brand - “SeleQtions”. SeleQtions will allow IHCL to cater to a broader audience of travellers who prefer staying in hotels with a distinctive character. 
  • The Company relaunched its iconic business club, Chambers and the new value proposition will offer a host of enhanced privileges and benefits.
  • IHCL’s iconic hotel, The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai was accorded the highest guest satisfaction score amongst its hospitality peers globally for the year 2018-2019 by TrustYou; the world’s largest guest feedback platform. The top global ranking reiterates the legendary hotel as one of the finest in the world.
  • The Company announced an initiative to reduce overall water intensity by 5% within the next 2 years across all its hotels. EarthCheck, the world’s leading scientific benchmarking and certification group will conduct a monthly audit to monitor IHCL’s sustainability practices and progress.