Posted inBusiness

“With 53 signings in FY2024, IHCL achieved a portfolio of 310 hotels!”

...Said Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director & CEO of IHCL, on the company's financial results for Q4 and full year 2023-24.

Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director & CEO, IHCL.

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), India’s largest hospitality company, reported its consolidated financials for the fourth quarter and full year ending March 31st, 2024. 

Consolidated financial results for Q4 and full year ended 31st March 2024

Q4 YoY PERFORMANCE
Revenue ↑ 18%EBITDA ↑ 25%EBITDA % ↑ 2.0pp   PAT ↑ 27%
₹ 1,951 Cr₹ 706 Cr36.2%      ₹ 418 Cr
FULL YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2024: YoY PERFORMANCE
Revenue ↑ 17%EBITDA ↑20%EBITDA % ↑ 1.0 pp   PAT ↑ 26%
₹ 6,952 Cr₹ 2,340 Cr33.7 %     ₹ 1,259 Cr

Commenting on the full-year performance, Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director & CEO of IHCL, said, “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+ hotels, and a cash position of INR 2,206 crores. Q4 FY24 marked eight consecutive quarters of record financial performance, driven by double-digit revenue growth in same-store hotels, incremental revenue from not like-for-like hotels, and the scaling of new businesses. With 53 signings in FY2024, IHCL achieved a portfolio of 310 hotels, enabled by attaining scale in each of our brands and forming strategic alliances in new market segments.”  

He added, “Looking ahead to FY2025, IHCL will continue to deliver double-digit revenue growth, with new businesses at 30% and the opening of 25 hotels. IHCL will also introduce the re-imagined Gateway, a full-service hotel offering in the upscale segment, an ideal fit to capture growth opportunities in emerging micromarkets in metros and Tier II and Tier III cities. The brand roll-out, 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-hotel portfolio by 2030.” 

“Investing in our competitive advantage of optimising the balance between operating leverage and fee-based business, IHCL has commenced a five-year capital deployment plan from FY2023 to FY2027 totaling INR 3,500 crores towards key asset upgradation, building capabilities, and select new projects. This includes strengthening our digital capabilities with new brand website launches starting May 2024, the implementation, of a new ERP system, and Data Lake for advanced analytics with AI/ML capabilities.”

Giridhar Sanjeevi, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of IHCL, said, “The resilience of our business model over eight consecutive quarters is reflective of the robust fundamentals of a diversified topline, a balanced portfolio, prudent capital allocation and a sharp focus on driving operating flow thorough. This sustained performance has led to an all-time high IHC consolidated turnover of INR 6,952 crores, a 17% growth YoY and a 100-basis point expansion in EBITDA margin at 33.7%.” 

He added, “The buoyancy of domestic demand drove a 20% growth in IHCL’s standalone revenue at INR 4,590 crores, EBITDA margin of 41.3% an expansion of 200 basis points leading to a record PAT of INR 1,095 crores. 

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS 
–          Consolidated Revenue grew by 17% led by a 19% growth in Room Revenue and 12% in Food & Beverage. 
–          Enterprise Revenue for the year stood at INR 13,090 crores, a 19% growth over the previous year with an 80% share from the domestic business.
–          Outperforming the industry on domestic same-store RevPAR with a premium of 65% vs competition.
–          Demand buoyancy in the international portfolio led to an occupancy of 67%, an expansion of 700 basis points resulting in a RevPAR growth of 9% over the previous year.
INDUSTRY-LEADING GROWTH
–          IHCL continues to demonstrate industry-leading growth with 53 hotels signed and 34 hotels opened.
–          IHCL’s recent signings include a strategic alliance for 14 resorts under the Tree of Life brand and 300 key Ginger at MOPA Goa; Taj branded hotel in Alibaug, Kollam, Indore, and Pushkar; SeleQtions branded hotels in Kolkata and Amritsar; and Vivanta branded hotel in Haridwar.
–          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.
NEW BUSINESSES & MANAGEMENT FEE
 –          IHCL’s New Business vertical comprising Ginger, Qmin, amã Stays & Trails, The Chambers (membership fee) and TajSATS reported a revenue of INR 1,588 crores.
–          At a growth of 35% over the previous year, New Business clocked a growth rate double that of core IHCL Enterprise which grew at 17%
–          New Business now accounts for a 12.1% share of IHCL Enterprise revenue an expansion of 140 bps from 10.7% in the previous year.
–          TajSATS clocked a revenue of INR 900 crores, a 40% growth over the previous year maintaining an industry-first EBITDA margin of 25.5%
–          Ginger reported a revenue of INR 486 crores, a 34% growth over the previous year with an EBITDAR margin of 41%. Reinforcing the brand’s lean luxe positioning, the new flagship Ginger Mumbai Airport clocked an 80% occupancy with an EBITDA margin of 43% and a PBT margin of 29.7%.  
–          amã Stays & Trails clocked a revenue of INR 35 crores, a growth of 42% over the previous year and achieved a portfolio milestone of 200 bungalows with 100 in operations.
–          Qmin reported a revenue of INR 101 crores, a 73% growth over previous year basis the inclusion of 35 Qmin outlets in Ginger hotels.
–          Management Fee income grew by 18% over the previous year at INR 470 crores reflective of IHCL’s asset-light strategy.
ESG+ FRAMEWORK OF PAATHYA
–          IHCL now uses 37% of energy from renewable sources and has installed 343 EV charging stations across 142 locations in India.
–          Continuing its journey of eliminating single-use plastic, IHCL has installed 40 bottling plants and achieved 48% recycling of water used.
–          IHCL partners and operates 32 skill centres across 15 States in India to build industry-relevant talent pools.