Mahindra Holidays lines up Rs 700-cr capex for FY12

 Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), today said it has lined up a capex of Rs 700 crore for this fiscal.

Presently, the leisure hospitality provider has 1,650 rooms and operates 36 resorts across India and Thailand.

"We plan to invest around Rs 700 crore by this fiscal-end. We are hoping to add about 800 more rooms by FY 12," Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Managing Director Ramesh Ramanathan told PTI here.

However, Ramanathan did not reveal the number of new properties it plans to open in FY 12.

"We are bullish on the new project...We can say we are in the process of opening a host of new projects this fiscal," Ramanathan said, adding the Board of Directors has recommended a dividend of 40 per cent.

The company today posted a 25 per cent increase in its stand-alone net profit at Rs 40.17-crore for the quarter ended March 31, as against Rs 32.21-crore in the same period last fiscal.

A part of the country's leading business conglomerate, the Mahindra Group, the company has added total 15,285 members in the last fiscal taking its total membership base to 1,25,169.

The company's flagship brand is Club Mahindra Holidays, while the other brands are Zest Breaks, Club Mahindra Fundays, Mahindra HomeStays and Mahindra.Travel.

Last month, the company named Rajiv Sawhney as the new CEO of Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India, effective April 30.

Ramanathan will head the the Mahindra Group's pioneering initiative in setting up Hospitality Schools and other learning platforms for the hospitality business.