Tata group's hospitality arm and Taj Hotels' parent company Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) reported a 19 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 296 crore for the first quarter of 2025-2026 (Q1FY26), despite geopolitical tensions.
IHCL had reported a net profit of Rs 248 crore in Q1FY25.The country's largest hospitality company reported a 32 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue from operations, rising to Rs 2,041.80 crore from Rs 1,550 crore. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) at domestic hotels grew 11 per cent Y-o-Y, and 13 per cent Y-o-Y for international hotels.
However, the hospitality giant saw a 3 per cent impact on its top line on account of geopolitical tensions in the northern part of India that started with the Pahalgam terrorist attack in April, and subsequent Operation Sindoor. It was further exacerbated by the ongoing conflicts in West Asia.
"This marks the 13th consecutive quarter of record performance. We would like to see such record growth at least in the coming five-six quarters, provided our base is also growing," Puneet Chhatwal, managing director and chief executive officer, IHCL, told Business Standard in a post-results interaction.
The company reported 12 signings, including three luxury wildlife lodges at Kruger National Park in Africa, and six openings in Q1FY26, taking its portfolio to 392 hotels, with 249 operational and 143 in the pipeline.
"We want to keep the pace of signing a contract every week, and opening anywhere between 30 and 36 hotels every year, which means four signings and three openings every month. We are also looking at some other safari opportunities in Africa as that is a segment which works very well in that geography," Chhatwal further said.
The company expects to hit the 400-hotel mark in July itself. Under Accelerate 2030, the company aims to have a portfolio of 700 hotels.
-- Akshara Srivastava, Business Standard