All initiatives will add to Indian Hotels top line, margins & benefit as demand outpaces supply: Puneet Chhatwal

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Puneet Chhatwal, MD & CEO, IHCL, says “traditionally Q3 has been the strongest quarter for the sector and will continue to be so for Indian Hotels. What is interesting for us is to have gone beyond Rs 1,500 crore in top line, posting a 17% increase on consolidated level as most of our growth is based on asset-light, fee-based business.

If we were to take it at an enterprise level which means a system-wide revenue, then we go even north of 20%. All in all, that is very heartening and we have been able to invest in the last quarter and also will be doing this quarter in our new businesses, on marketing initiatives for Qmin, for Ama and in putting a better structure in place.” Last quarter, we used the term impressive to describe your numbers. Before that, they were charged up. How would you describe in your own terminology, numbers for the quarter gone by? Let me first hear your assessment and then I will come up with a follow-up question. The first important factor to keep in mind is that Q1 and Q2 and traditionally the first half of the year has always been weak for the sector but that is changing.

In the last five or six quarters, one can see that India on a macro basis is becoming a more 365-day destination versus being a destination dependent on only foreign arrivals and a destination which works very well between October to March or the second half of the year. Having said that, October to March, that is Q3 and Q4, still remain the strongest quarters because of the way the marriage calendar works, Diwali, Christmas, New Year and all the festivities.

Traditionally Q3 has been the strongest quarter for the sector and will continue to be so for Indian Hotels. What is interesting for us is to have gone beyond Rs 1,500