Indian Hotels Company Q4 loss widens to Rs 365.5 crore

Tata Group's hospitality arm Indian Hotels Company widened its standalone net loss to Rs 365.46 crore for the March quarter, dragged down by a Rs 715-crore hit due to investment in Orient Express Hotels and two other properties.
The company had reported a net loss of Rs 339 crore in the year-ago period.
Income from operations rose marginally to Rs 577.72 crore during the March 2014 quarter compared to Rs 555.83 crore a year ago.
Explaining the exceptional expenditure of Rs 715 crore, managing director Raymond Bickson said the company had to take this hit on account of diminution of its investments in Orient Express Hotels, BJets and IHMS Inc.

"The last quarter is usually the strongest for us, but it has been disappointing for us this time around.
"The hospitality sector has gone through unprecedented challenges in the last three-four years on account of the sluggishness in the domestic economy, influx of new supply of rooms and a weak economy in many of the important source markets," Bickson said, adding that despite current pressures, the outlook for the future is positive.

The hospitality major is planning to add 14 hotels during this fiscal.
"Going ahead we are planning to focus more on contract management and be asset light," he said.

The company, he said, tried to keep the debt as flat as possible and currently, stand alone debt is at Rs 2,700 crore.
Despite this the company's scrip closed at Rs 89.30 on the BSE, up 0.39 per cent, while the main gauge Sensex shed 19 points in a dull trade. The numbers were announced post-market hours.