Indian Hotels Q4 Results: Profit Rises 29%

The Indian Hotels Co.'s consolidated net profit rose 29.3% in the fourth quarter of financial year 2024, beating analysts' estimates.

The hospitality firm's profit increased to Rs 438 crore in the quarter-ended March, according to an exchange filing on Wednesday. Analysts tracked by Bloomberg had pegged the profit at Rs 427.6 crore.

• Revenue up 17.2% to Rs 1,905 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 1,913.8 crore).

• Ebitda up 23.2% to Rs 659.2 crore (Estimate: Rs 679.5 crore).

• Margin at 34.6% vs 32.9% (Estimate: 35.50%).

• Net profit up 29.3% at Rs 438 crore (Estimate: Rs 427.6 crore).

• Board recommended a dividend of Rs 1.75 per share.

• Occupancy up 440 bps at 79.1%.

• Average room rate up 4% at Rs 17,546.

• Revenue per available room up 10% at Rs 13,885.

In Q4, IHCL opened six hotels, with three hotels under SeleQtions in Jaisalmer, Tirupati and Munnar; two Ginger hotels in Durgapur and Ahmedabad; and a Vivanta in Bharatpur, Nepal. Meanwhile, in FY24, the business signed 53 hotels and opened 34 hotels.

Puneet Chhatwal, managing director and CEO, said, "Looking ahead at FY25, IHCL will continue to deliver double-digit revenue growth with new businesses at 30%, and opening of 25 hotels."

The business will also introduce the re-imagined Gateway, a full-service hotel offering in the upscale segment in emerging micro markets in metros and Tier II and Tier III cities. The brand rollout, starting with 15 hotels, will commence with launches in Bekal and Nashik this quarter, followed by destinations like Bengaluru, Thane and Jaipur. The brand will scale to a 100 hotels portfolio by 2030.

For FY24, he added, "IHCL achieves its key goals under Ahvaan 2025 well ahead of time, with a full-year consolidated Ebitda margin of 33.7%, a portfolio of 300 plus hotels and a cash position of Rs 2,206 crore."

Shares of IHCL closed 0.7% higher at Rs 608.25 apiece on the BSE, as compared with a 0.16% advance in the benchmark Sensex.