Wonderla to expand presence in South India

Wonderla Holidays Pvt Ltd, the amusement parks firm from the promoters of V-Guard Industries Ltd, is planning to set up two amusement parks in Hyderabad and Chennai in next four years, with an investment of around Rs 400 crore. The company is also entering into hospitality segment by launching a resort in its Bangalore park next month, said a company official.

The company would commence works for the third park in near the new airport in Hyderabad in April, while it is in the final stage of acquiring land in Chennai. It is currently running two amusement parks, one in Kochi and another one in Bangalore.

“We are looking for around Rs 200 crore investment each in Hyderabad and Chennai projects. Our aim is to complete the two projects within 2015, of which Hyderabad project might roll out initially, in 2014,” said Arun K Chittilappilly, executive director, Wonderla Holidays Pvt Ltd. The company, which is currently debt free, could fund one of the projects through internal accruals and debt, but if both the projects happen to start togather, it would look for raising fund from investors including private equity.

It is also launching its first Wonderla Resort of 3 star facility with around 85 rooms inside the amusement park in Bangalore. It would go for an expansion to around 160 rooms in the park in a later stage and plans are to set up similar resorts in Kochi park and in the upcoming Hyderabad and Chennai parks. The resorts would be a separate new division in the company and it is hiring people for managing the resorts, he said. “So far, our offerings were limited to the fixed time frame of a day. With the resort, which also will have a conference room or facility, would now enable the customers to spend their time in leisure in the park for more than a day,” he said.

As part of the consolidation the company recently re-branded Veegaland, its first amusement park in Kerala, to Wonderla. Its initial plan is to set up amusement parks in major cities of Southern States, after which it might consider growing to Western parts of the country, added Chittilappilly.

The company has posted a turnover of Rs 91 crore last fiscal year and expects it to grow to Rs 110 crore, with the resort being launched in Bangalore. It is expecting the net profit to grow from Rs 28 crore, last fiscal to more than Rs 30 crore, this fiscal year.