Indian Hotels net jumps

The Indian Hotels Co Ltd (IHCL), the country’s largest service provider in the segment operating under the brands of Taj, Vivanta by Taj, Gateway and Ginger, reported a 143 per cent rise in net profit for the June quarter at Rs 9.8 crore against Rs 4 crore in the year-ago period.

Together with dividend received from subsidiaries and Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, income under the head ‘other income’ grew nearly threefold to Rs 21.25 crore during the quarter, compared with Rs 7.45 crore a year earlier.

Net sales remained flat at Rs 396.6 crore for the April-June period, compared with Rs 396.5 crore posted in the corresponding quarter last year.  “The hospitality sector continued to encounter a challenging environment during the quarter, which is essentially the offseason period for the sector,” said Raymond Bickson, managing director of IHCL.

At least 1,575 new rooms would be added this year, of which five properties will be under the Gateway brand, two under the Vivanta brand and one under the Taj brand. At least three new Ginger hotels will also be opened.

The average room rate during the reporting quarter stood at Rs 8,300, on a par with the corresponding period last year.