Oberoi Hotels ranked amongst the best in Asia and in the world.
Profitability in 1st Quarter better than in the previous Quarter.
24th August 2010, Kolkata, India: Addressing the Sixtieth Annual
General Meeting of EIH Limited (the flagship Company of The Oberoi Group)
held in Kolkata today, Mr. P.R.S. Oberoi, Chairman stated, "The Oberoi,
Mumbai which was destroyed by the terrorists in November, 2008 re-opened
on 24th April, 2010. The Oberoi, Mumbai has been well received by
guests". Mr. Oberoi also said, "The Oberoi, Mumbai is now amongst
the best in the region".
Mr. Oberoi added, "Travel + Leisure, a leading international travel
magazine, has, in a readers' poll, ranked one of the Company's hotels as
the Best Hotel in the World; four Oberoi Hotels have been ranked as number
1, 2, 3 and 4 Best in Asia and four Oberoi Hotels have been ranked in the
first 15 in the world. No hotel company has received such distinction
in the past. The above honours bear testimony to the levels of excellence
and service standards that the Company has strived to maintain".
Mr. Oberoi also said, "The demand for hotel rooms in India should grow
in this Financial Year. Whilst room rates should begin to improve, margins
are likely to be under strain due to high inflation. Appropriate measures
have been taken to contain costs, wherever possible, while ensuring service
excellence".
The difficult financial landscape of 2009-2010 impacted the Company's
performance during that Financial Year. As a result:
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Total Revenue for the year ended 31st March, 2010 was Rs. 907.27 crores
as compared to Rs. 1078.47 crores in the previous year;
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The Profit before Tax was Rs. 88.99 crores as compared to Rs. 273.26 crores
in the previous year;
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The Profit after Tax was Rs. 57.23 crores as compared to Rs. 170.44 crores
in the previous year.
Nonetheless, the previous year's Dividend of Rs. 1.20 per share had been
maintained.
The operating results of the first quarter in this Financial Year are
better than that of the first quarter in the previous Financial Year, without
considering the estimated income from insurance claims accounted for in
the previous Financial Year.
Thus:
-
Total Income for the first quarter increased from Rs.166.39 crores to Rs.205.16
crores. This represents an increase of 23.3%.
-
The Earnings before Interest, Depreciation, Taxation and Amortisation ("EBITDA")
increased from Rs. 15.78 crores to Rs. 25.95 crores. This represents
an increase of nearly 65%.
Mr. Oberoi further added, "On 12th July, 2010, we opened our first overseas
Flight Kitchen venture at Mauritius. The Kitchen is owned through a wholly
owned subsidiary. The 10,000 meals per day capacity Kitchen has cost us
approximately US $ 24 million".
Mr. Oberoi pointed out that the Company had completed the following
projects/acquisitions:
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On 30th June, 2010 EIH International Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary
of EIH Limited completed the acquisition of the 45.85% equity interest
of Amex Investment Limited in its international hotels Joint Venture Company
EIH Holdings Limited for US $ 45 million. With this acquisition, EIH Holdings
Limited was now a wholly owned subsidiary of EIH International Limited.
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The 440 key Trident at Bandra Kurla, Mumbai opened on 1st December, 2009.
The hotel had been well received and occupancies were stabilising.
The opening of Trident, Bandra Kurla, Mumbai and the much anticipated successful
re-opening of The Oberoi, Mumbai will ensure that the Company had the requisite
inventory of rooms to cater to future demand.
The status of other projects on hand is as follows:
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The Oberoi, Gurgaon consisting of 202 keys was expected to open during
the fourth quarter of the current Financial Year.
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Construction of the 103 key Trident hotel at Dehradun was on schedule.
The hotel was expected to open in the spring of 2012.
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Construction of the 229 key Oberoi hotel at Cyber City, Hyderabad was under
way. This was in addition to a 323 key Trident hotel also under construction
at the adjacent site. Both hotels were expected to open in phases beginning
in the summer of 2012.
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Construction of the 252 key Oberoi hotel in Dubai located at Business Bay
was progressing. The hotel is expected to commence operations in the last
quarter of 2011 or in the first quarter of 2012.
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Planning had commenced on Oberoi hotels in Abu Dhabi and in Oman.
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Planning for The Oberoi, Marrakech, Morocco is under way.
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Management Contracts for a hotel at Scorpio Bay, Greece and a second Oberoi
hotel in Mauritius have been signed.
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The new Flight Kitchen in Delhi was expected to be operational in March
2011.
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The Flight Kitchen at Cochin was expected to be commissioned shortly; while
the Calicut Flight Kitchen was expected to commence operations in early
2011.
In conclusion Mr. Oberoi further stated, "The last two and half years have
been challenging due to the global financial crisis and the terrorist attack
on Mumbai in November 2008. I am confident that we have the trained work
force and the commitment to meet the challenges of the future and emerge
stronger and more profitable".
The Oberoi Group
The Oberoi Group, founded in 1934, operates 28 hotels and three cruisers
in five countries under the luxury �Oberoi� and five-star �Trident� brands.
The Group is also engaged in flight catering, airport restaurants, travel
and tour services, car rentals, project management and corporate air charters.