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MHRIL bullish on expansion for member addition

Leisure hospitality company Mahindra Holidays and Resorts India (MHRIL), part of the US$ 17.8 billion Mahindra Group, is leveraging upon domestic tourism and expanding its property portfolio to add more members. MHRIL recently announced its consolidated and standalone financial results for the quarter ended and year ended March 31, 2017. The company has marked an increase in member addition by 14.7 per cent at 18,557, whilst also marking an increase of 14.7 per cent in turnover at INR 1,105 crore.

The standalone results for FY17 posted a total income of INR 1,105.9 crore, which was 14.7 per cent higher than the previous year’s INR 963.9 crore. Profit before tax (PBT) for FY17 stood at INR 200.9 crore, 19.5 per cent higher than INR 168.1 crore in FY16. Whereas, profit after tax (PAT) stood at INR 130.6 crore, 15 per cent higher than INR 113.6 crore in FY16. Whereas, in the consolidated results for the year ended March 31, 2017, the company’s total income at INR 2309.9 crore was 43 per cent higher than INR 1612.9 for the previous year. PAT for the year FY17 at INR 145.5 crore was 39 per cent higher than INR 105.0 crore in the previous year.

In its standalone results for Q4FY17, MHRIL posted a total income of INR 315.7 crore, a surge of 26.3 per cent from INR 249.9 crore in in the same period last fiscal. After making certain provision arising out of the company’s new accounting standards, PBT for Q4 FY17 has been marked at INR 49.6 crore, 10.1 per cent higher than INR 45.0 crore in Q4 FY16 and PAT for Q4FY17 stood at 31.8 crore, which was 4.5 per cent higher than INR 30.5 crore in Q4FY16.

Kavinder Singh, managing director and CEO, MHRIL, said, “Entering into untapped destinations and creating a new destination has been our success factor. In business hotels, guests stay for a short period, but we have the advantage of long stays as we are entirely a leisure hospitality company. We can increase our market and add more members by adding properties to our portfolio. Travel and tourism sector is booming in India, which is a sunrise factor for us. We have also introduced our new concept, ‘Heart-to-heart’, wherein we offer multiple experiences and activities to our guests.”

MHRIL, having a global footprint with over 218,000 members, sees domestic tourism in India as a significant factor which contributes to 83 per cent of its business in the country. The company, which added five resorts in Q4FY17, has a four projects in India lined up in its pipeline, including a property in Goa and a 115-room property in Nandhera, Rajasthan.

Commenting on expansion, Singh said, “Following the Finland acquisition, our focus right now is on consolidating that and get that going. Our expansion plans are within India and South East Asia. We continue to look for opportunities of acquisition in these markets and even in Mediterranean, if there is an opportunity for acquisition.”

The board of directors also announced the issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 1:2, subject to shareholders’ approval. Commenting on this announcement, Vasant Krishnan, executive director and CFO, MHRIL, said, “This will increase interest of investors and it is a good opportunity to reward the management confidence.”