Taj Hotels Q3 revenue rises as leisure destinations draw travellers again

NEW DELHI: With a strong presence in leisure destinations that are leading the path to India’s Covid-battered hospitality sector’s recovery, Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) — which runs the Tata Group major running Taj brands of hotels — has reported a revenue of Rs 615 crore in the October-December, 2020, quarter. While this is over 56% lower than Q3 of FY 2019-20, revenue of Rs 1,409 crore, it is 90% more than the earnings of Q2 July-September quarter. IHCL scrip closed BSE Wednesday 0.4% lower at Rs 122.85, when the broader market ended 0.9% up.IHCL MD & CEO Puneet Chhatwal said: “The third quarter saw stronger recovery driven primarily by leisure demand and resumption of weddings. With innovation at the heart of our strategy, we continued to unlock the potential of our ancillary businesses, creating alternative sources of revenue.”“Despite challenges, the company opened four and signed six new hotels in the quarter and continued its focus on adopting an asset-light model, which has helped IHCL achieve a 44% managed portfolio, further boosting consistent portfolio growth without additional capital deployment,” Chhatwal added.In this Q3, IHCL signed six new hotels, including two Taj in Kolkata and one in Patna, with over 1,100 rooms across brands at multiple locations and opened four new hotels in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Darjeeling and Kalinganagar.