IHCL Registers Highest PAT Growth in 11 Years

INDIAN HOTELS Company Limited (IHCL), a listed company under the TATA group which owns Taj Group of Hotels, has announced their Annual financial results for 2018-19 as well as standalone 4th quarter results ending on March 31, 2019. The company has registered highest PAT (Profit After Tax) in 11 years at Rs 287 cr in fy2018-19. The company has posted 10% revenue growth and 25 percent EBITDA growth at Rs 913 cr. 

For the year ending March 31, 2019, the Board of Directors have recommended an equity dividend of 50 percent amounting to Rs 0.50 per share. This is an increase over the previous dividend pay-outs of 40 percent and 35 percent in 2017/18 and 2016/17 respectively, the company said in a release.

Commenting on the fiscal performance, Puneet Chhatwal, MD and CEO, IHCL said, “IHCL is on track in the execution of its strategy, Aspiration 2022. Our reimagined brandscape gave us the opportunity to sign 22 hotels with an inventory of over 3200 rooms across brands in India and key international markets like London, Makkah, Kathmandu and Dubai. We opened five hotels in this fiscal and are well-poised to open one hotel per month in light of a healthy pipeline and confirmed momentum of signing new contracts.” 

 “Our customer-centric approach combined with an eye on profitability resulted in the EBITDA margins growing by 229 bps for the year. We continued to enhance our value proposition through the renewed brands, customer experiences and offerings, whilst deleveraging our balance sheet,” stated Giridhar Sanjeevi, EVP & CFO, IHCL. 

The company renovated and upgraded several hotels to stay relevant for the ever-evolving global traveller. 19 hotels were upgraded to the Taj brand. Taj MG Road, Bengaluru unveiled its all-new look recently after a major renovation. Some of the other renovated hotels in key cities include: Taj Palace, New Delhi; Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Goa; Taj Fort Aguada Resort & Spa, Goa; Taj Bengal, Kolkata; Taj Fisherman’s Cove Resort & Spa, Chennai; Taj Krishna, Hyderabad; Taj Ganges, Varanasi; Taj Mahal, Lucknow and St. James’ Court, A Taj Hotel, London.  

The company also introduced the iconic Taj brand in Rishikesh with the opening of Taj Rishikesh Resort & Spa, Uttarakhand.