IHCL Q1 net profit at Rs 4.98 cr

Tata Group firm Indian Hotels Company on Monday reported a consolidated net of Rs 4.98 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2019.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 9.10 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) said in a filing to BSE.

Consolidated revenue from operations of the company stood at Rs 1,020 crore for the quarter under consideration as against Rs 979.70 crore for the same period year ago.

"In the statement of Profit and Loss for the current quarter, the nature of expenses in respect of operating leases has changed from lease rent to depreciation on right-of-use asset and finance cost for interest accrued on lease liability using the effective interest method," IHCL said.

Consequently Finance costs and Depreciation for the quarter is higher by Rs 38.96 crore and Rs 16.89 crore respectively with corresponding reduction in "Other Operating and General Expenses" of Rs 44.79 crore. Consequently, Profit before tax is lower by Rs 11.06 crore, it added.

As the "previous period information is not restated and hence not comparable," IHCL said.

"Despite the macro-economic headwinds, we have stayed on track in delivering our promise as outlined in Aspiration 2022," IHCL MD and CEO Puneet Chhatwal said.

The company continued its growth journey by signing seven hotels with 1,267 rooms. It also opened three hotels in this quarter in key strategic markets like Goa and Agra, he added.

"Both the absolute Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) of Rs 166 crore as well as the EBITDA margin of 15.68 per cent are the highest for Q1 for the last 10 years," Chhatwal said.

In line with the company's vision to scale up and create greater enterprise value, IHCL entered into a strategic partnership with Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC for an investment platform to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore, the company said.

In a separate filing IHCL said its board has approved the appointment of Nasser Munjee, Hema Ravichandar and Venkataramanan Anantharaman as additional directors of the company in an independent capacity with immediate effect, for a period of five years.

Shares of IHCL closed at Rs 135 on BSE, down 1.93 per cent from the previous close.