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Tatas-owned Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) is planning to restructure its international business to make it more tax-efficient. “We want to be able to take advantage of currency fluctuations,” Raymond Bickson, managing director of IHCL, told Business Standard.
The hotel company is also strategising on handling its debt of Rs 3,800 crore. IHCL and its subsidiaries are collectively known as Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces.
Bickson said in the quarter ended June, revenues of the company’s 10 international luxury hotels have surpassed that of the 17 luxury properties in India. “International operations are growing exponentially. We have been adding one hotel every year,” said Bickson.
The board will soon take a decision on the company’s Orient Express investment. Bermuda-based Orient Express had rejected the take-over bid of IHCL last year. The company took a hit of Rs 424 crore on its investment in Orient Express for the quarter ended March 31.
The firm is optimistic about the bookings in the upcoming festive season and is expecting to grow its revenues by 8-10 per cent. “The market has been flat but the exchange rate has made India a very attractive destination. Countries like Spain and Greece that have been under economic crisis have seen record tourism this year. We are hopeful business will pick up,” Bickson added.
IHCL’s consolidated net loss fell by over 42 per cent to Rs 19 crore in the quarter ended June 30, compared with Rs 33 crore net loss during the corresponding year-ago period.
Besides, with the extended lease of the Taj Mahal Hotel in Delhi (better known as Taj Mansingh) expiring next month and New Delhi Municipal Council referring the matter to the Solicitor-General, Bickson asserted IHCL has a strong case. On whether Taj should get the right of first refusal, he said, “It is a different interpretation of the contract. It was the government who had come to us to develop the hotel.”
He was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of Vivanta by Taj in Surajkund, near Delhi on Thursday. IHCL expects Vivanta to clock a turnover of Rs 1,500 crore this financial year, compared to Rs 1,200 last year. The company plans to add 15-18 Vivanta hotels in the next five years.
