Future 'very strong' as India's consumption boosts travel: Tata Sons chief

Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran on Monday exuded confidence that the future looks "very strong and bright" as growing consumption in India will drive the growth of the travel sector, sharing his outlook at the Tata Group-owned Indian Hotels Company Limited's (IHCL) AGM.

Addressing shareholders of IHCL, the country's biggest hospitality player, Chandrasekaran shared that the "intent is to achieve a total global footprint of 700 hotels by 2030 and double the revenues to cross ₹15,000 crore".

The Tata Sons Chairman began his address at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) by paying tributes to those who lost their lives at the Air India plane crash recently, and also expressed a "deep sense of loss" at the passing away of Ratan Tata last October.

"To lose a single person we know is a tragedy, but for so many deaths to occur at once is incomprehensible. Our thoughts are with them. I also would like to express a deep sense of loss on the passing away of Ratan Tata in October 2024.

"He was a truly uncommon leader, a distinguished business leader and philanthropist, and his remarkable vision and achievements shaped the Tata Group for multiple decades. He was a dear friend and the person whom I turned to for any guidance. In other words, we miss him very dearly," Chandrasekaran said.

The Tata Sons Chairman asserted that India has shown remarkable resilience in the backdrop of the significant shifts witnessed post the Covid pandemic, which resulted in supply chain shocks and an economic slowdown, especially in the developed markets.

The services sector in India has been growing at around a little over 8 per cent, the foreign nationals travel to India is also growing year on year, and is slowly here in the 10 million mark, Chandrasekaran added.

"Future looks very strong and bright as the consumption in India keeps growing and the travels will continue to increase," he asserted.

Elaborating on the financial performance of IHCL during 2024-25, Chandrasekaran said in the last fiscal year, the company signed 74 new hotels and had 26 new openings. The total portfolio has expanded to 380 hotels.

"In terms of financial performance, our total standalone revenue was at ₹5,145 crore, with a profit after tax of ₹1,430 crore. On a consolidated basis, our revenues were about₹ 8,565 crore, and our profit after tax was ₹1,908 crore.

"Our consolidated EBITDA margin touched 38 per cent. IHCL also reported a free cash flow of ₹1,100 crore in 2024-25 and now has a very strong cash reserve of over ₹3,000 crore," the Tata Sons Chairman said.