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Kamat Hotels (India) ltd. — Call Transcript 2026
May 16, 2026
62697_rns_2026-05-16_0afab617-1f94-446a-bca0-47e2fdcdb0fe.pdf
Call Transcript
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KAMAT HOTELS (INDIA) LIMITED
"Asia's Pioneering Hospitality Chain of Environmentally Sensitive 5 Star Hotels & Resorts"
May 16, 2026
To,
Listing Department
Bombay Stock Exchange Limited
Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers,
Dalal Street,
Mumbai - 400001.
To,
Listing Department
National Stock Exchange of India Limited
Exchange Plaza, C-1, Block G,
Bandra – Kurla Complex,
Bandra (E), Mumbai – 400051
Code: 526668
ISIN: INE967C01018
Symbol: KAMATHOTEL
Sub.: Submission of Transcript of Q4 & FY26 Earnings Conference Call held on May 13, 2026
Dear Sir / Madam,
In accordance with the provisions of Regulation 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, as amended (“SEBI Listing Regulations”), please find enclosed herewith a transcript of Q4 & FY26 Earnings Conference call of Kamat Hotels (India) Limited with various Investors and Analysts held on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, at 12:00 Noon (IST).
We request you to take the above on record and treat the same as compliance under the applicable provisions of SEBI Listing Regulations.
Kindly take the above on your record.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully,
For Kamat Hotels (India) Limited
NIKHIL Digitally signed by NIKHL SINGH
SINGH Date: 2026.05.16 14:51:25 +05'30'
Nikhil Singh
Company Secretary & Compliance Officer
Encl a/a.
REGD OFF.: 70-C, Nehru Road, Vile Parle (East), Mumbai - 400 099, India. Tel.: 022 2616 4000, Fax: 022 2616 4203
Email-Id: [email protected] | Website: www.khil.com | CIN: L55101MH1986PLC039307
TAR ORCHID
HOSPITAL SOCIETY & RESEARCH FRIENDS: ESS-FRIENDS
Net Jadhav GADH
Ladh, Jhagadh, Aage Badh...
MAJCOMCHI PALACE
LOTUS RESORTS
By ORCHID Bank
IPA
BY ORCHID NOTES
Kamat Hotels India Limited
Q4 & FY'26 Conference Call
May 13, 2026
Moderator:
Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the Q4 FY26 Conference Call of Kamat Hotels (India) Ltd.
As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing “*” followed by “0” on your touchtone phone.
Please note that this conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to hand over the conference to Ms. Purvangi Jain from Valorem Advisors. Thank you and over to you ma'am.
Purvangi Jain:
Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone and a warm welcome to you all. My name is Purvangi Jain from Valorem Advisors. We represent the investor relations of Kamat Hotels (India) Ltd.
On behalf of the company, I would like to thank you all for participating in the company's Earnings Conference Call for the 4th Quarter and Financial Year 2026.
Before we begin, let me mention a short cautionary statement.
Some of the statements made in today's earnings call may be forward looking in nature. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risk and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from those anticipated. Such statements are based on management's belief as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the management. Audiences are cautioned not to place any undue reliance on these forward-looking statements in making any investment decisions. The purpose of today's Earnings Call is purely to educate and bring awareness about the company's fundamental business and financial quarter under review.
I would now like to introduce you to the Management team joining us on today's call. We have with us Mr. Vishal Vithal Kamat – Executive Director and Mr. Nikhil Singh – Company Secretary and Compliance Officer.
Without any delay, I request Mr. Vishal Vithal Kamat to start with his opening remarks. Thank you and over to you, sir.
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
Thank you very much. Namaskar, everyone. I would like to welcome you all to the Earnings Call that we have for the Year Ending 2026.
So, with that, let me give an overall outlook:
While the global challenges have been immense for multiple industries, I think at the same time we find ourselves in a very strange situation where supply is a challenge and demand is still there. So, many companies are having orders, but they are not able to execute due to supply issues. And when they are supplying, there is a cost escalation. So, there is a benefit also indirectly. But that kind of like evens out.
But so hence you find that we are in a very unique position where there is still growth. We still have the performance, but expenses and other things are going up. And we need to keep that in mind.
I think what Mr. Modi – our Prime Minister said, along with even when you look at Singapore Prime Minister's viral video and Mr. Uday Kotak, it's not about being pessimistic. It's about being cautious and keeping our eye on the ball as to what is happening and preparing for that. And touch wood, I am very happy that hospitality in our case, the sector that we are in, I will talk in more detail about it in more but broadly, we find ourselves in a position where our existing hotels will continue to have, as per what we see, a good run or at least what we have been doing. I don't know about the growth, but I definitely know that even if we maintain what we are maintaining and focus on our tightening belt, that itself will still give a good result like we have seen in the last one year. And at the same time, new project executions would be challenging because of material supply availability today because of LPG. It's not only hospitality, but real estate and even simple office renovation, home renovation, any kind of utility for materials because of the tiles being a big challenge because LPG is required for tile manufacturing. So, you find that there is a lot of different push and pulls happening. But the good part is we are aware of it and we are ready to weather it.
That said, there has still been a good demand, a very good demand for weddings. There has still been a very good movement of domestic MICE. And because Kamat is an Indian brand, a homegrown brand, a strong domestic brand, having majority domestic clients, we particularly have not been affected, which the results show, from the foreign disruptions, foreign travel. And Mumbai as a city being the primary gateway of India has had that advantage. And Navi Mumbai Airport opening also is a further boost on this whole theme whether it is from hospitality or business. So, Navi Mumbai and the way Navi Mumbai Airport is adding the additional international flights, at least Mumbai as a sector, Pune as a sector, seem to have a robust future with the increasing business.
With this backdrop, we also know that overall, we have some upcoming projects which have got delayed, whether it is the Orchid Dehradun, Orchid Gwalior, the IRA by Orchid in Bhavnagar. But the good news is that IRA by Orchid Bhavnagar should open by June, though it
was envisaged to be much later, thanks to the owners. Again, Orchid Nashik got delayed. So, Bhavnagar owners, they were able to do things much more expeditiously and fast. So, when we depend on the owner, that time these sudden delays happen. So, Bhavnagar IRA will open by June.
And with that, let me just read a formal which our CFO who has moved on. So, based on that, a new CFO will come, which we can discuss on that later on. I will just read one of the main passages.
It was basically, on a consolidated basis, revenue for the 4th Quarter stood at INR 110 crores, representing an increase of approximately 19% year-on-year. EBITDA for the quarter also was at INR 32 crores, improving the EBITDA margins to 29%, reflecting an expansion of 213 basis points year-on-year. Profit after tax for the quarter stood at INR 18 crores, representing a 59% year-on-year increase, while PAT margins stood at 16%.
For the full year FY26, the consolidated revenue stood at INR 386 crores, reflecting an 8% growth. The EBITDA for the year stood at INR 97 crores with EBITDA margins of 25.1%, while the profit after tax stood at INR 39 crores, translating into a PAT margin of 10.1%.
So, looking ahead, we are, like I mentioned, cautiously optimistic. We have to be very pragmatic in terms of the volume that we are looking at in terms of business, focusing more on our domestic line. After Prime Minister Modi's call on travel in India, I don't think many of the people in India have a choice because foreign allies are anyway cancelling and reducing the number of flights due to the higher fuel prices.
Including domestic aviation companies also have reduced their foreign travel, like Air India has cancelled. So, while it will affect incoming, but post-corona, again let me remind everyone, Indian tourism influx of foreigners post-Corona was not very robust. It did not reach the pre-Corona level. And hence a lot of our boom has been because of the robust internal economy. So, again this year, this holiday season, we find a lot of movement from within India and that's how many of our resorts are doing well, even after the 31st of March. So, I think that boosts many of the Indian operators, the Indian hoteliers, the Indian tour operators, many of them will have this advantage.
With that, I will leave the floor open to the questions and answers. I have with me Mr. Nikhil Singh, our company secretary also. They have done a very good job in, basically, I must appreciate you and your team, Nikhil, for handling the things in the absence, and still getting everything done on time.
So, thank you, everyone. And with that, I ask the moderator to open the floor. Thank you. Namaskar.
Moderator:
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the Lion of Urmish Shah from Moneywisers. Please go ahead. Yes.
Urmish Shah:
Yes. So, my first question is on the ARR. I mean, if I see the YoY numbers for the quarter, then IRA and Fort Jadhavgadh both have seen a decline. If you could throw some light on that and also on the occupancy rate for both these properties.
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
Yes. So, occupancy, we have had a dip in Jadhavgadh last year. There were certain things, but this year we will definitely see much better figures for Fort Jadhavgadh in general. There were certain challenges which were there in the middle of the year because of which we did face. And that's why the second half was better than the first half. But there was a dip overall. So, this year we have changed certain strategies, changed certain things, and based on which there will be a much, much better performance in terms of the ADR and the occupancy and the overall business. There, especially in Jadhavgadh, when we do weddings, we do in terms of yield. So, this year there has been a different change in strategy. And that's how basically we will find that result.
Urmish Shah:
Could you elaborate a bit more on the strategy? Because I mean, I can understand IRA had a 5% dip if I see the numbers, but Jadhavgadh had a 26% dip.
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
So, IRA's dip is different and Fort Jadhavgadh's dip is different. IRA's dip is because, so basically what happens is when we add new hotels, and this is also a very good question you asked. Let me take it on the broader sense of the occupancy also dropped, which holistically as a company we have seen. That's because what happens is when you add new hotels, and since they have been under either Orchid brand or under IRA brand, the overall metrics becomes wider. The base becomes wider. For example, we have added a 45-room hotel, IRA by Orchid Porvorim. Now in the first few months, it took time for it to start, stabilize. It takes a lot of time for the SEO, which is the Search Engine Optimization, to get the algorithm and then the hotel to start popping up on the top. Then people when they start booking, that time on the OTA bookings also the algorithm starts playing. Today if Orchid Hotel comes in the top page, it's not because of only the money that you spend on ad or banner and all. That doesn't help a lot. What actually helps a lot is when you are popular due to clicks. The algorithm at the back end says, hey! this is a popular hotel, people are liking this hotel, let me promote this hotel. Because ultimately what does the agent want, the OTA want, makemytrip, Booking.com, they want more clicks through them. So, if they show popular hotels first, the probability of the clicks and the conversion is very high because of which the algorithm is set that way. So, when you start a new hotel, it takes time. Even if you are a good brand, it does not matter. It takes time for the algorithm to recognize you to be popular in that area. And then your thing comes up. So, today, touchwood, IRA by Orchid Porvorim is doing exceedingly well. But when it started off, the first three months, similarly, Orchid Rishikesh, our Orchid Rishivan, that also suffered the same challenge. That for the first few months, it struggled because the OTA, even though Orchid is popular everywhere else, in Rishikesh it did not know that this Orchid is popular. But now you
find the traction happening through the OTA. You find the traction happening through the webpage. So, basically, this is where your overall ADR and overall occupancy fall because the base has changed. So, that's why basically, so when we talk about Orchid Mumbai as a standalone, there is a minor ADR based on the market circumstances. In fact, the occupancy also has a couple of percentages gone up. But when you talk Orchid as a brand, it shows that it has dropped because of the new additions of hotels. So, this is a continuing thing which will happen as new hotels will come. And as our Orchid, as our IRA, as our brand base becomes bigger, these new additions will not affect it so much. It will affect it in minor. So, even jumps will not seem extreme and even the drops will not be seen in an extreme or in a higher case.
Urmish Shah:
Okay. So, should we assume that our EBITDA and PAT also will, I wouldn't say suffer, but be on a lower range if this effect happens?
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
Now this has already happened. So, whatever PAT and whatever EBITDA you see now is based on already what I have explained. So, next year onwards, you will actually find the gain in the EBITDA and the gain in the PAT or not PAT, but let's say EBITDA. PAT being something else, but there is a gain in the EBITDA because the EBITDA will now improve as the hotels start performing. So, Orchid Rishivan in the first few months didn't have the kind of fraction. It did not have the kind of sale. Why? Because it takes time for a new hotel to get the weddings, get the other things, get its BOB up, get the things done. And because of which basically we took time. But after that, now weddings are coming. Now corporate movements are coming. Now FIT from various OTA channels are coming. Even our direct member base, our Orchid Reward Program people are going. Then word of mouth spreads. Local agents are there. So, this is how basically now Rishivan is on track. Similarly, Porvorim, when it started off. Today in Porvorim, we have some airlines also. Orchid is a preferred group for Indigo and for Akasa. We were for Air India. Now we get in Sporadic. But these are the airlines who support us across India. We have a tie-up with them across. Wherever there is an airport and we are near to it, we are a preferred choice because the way we handle the air hostesses, the girls. They feel happy. They feel taken care of. They feel a home away from home and that's how basically whether it's Bhubaneswar or whether it's Mumbai. So, coming back to the main point is that we basically will have a better EBITDA because now these hotels will perform since they opened last year. Some have opened four months back from the 31st of March. Some have opened three months back, four months back, six months back. So, they take time to perform like Chandigarh. You know Chandigarh last year did not perform to its expected because it opened in April and in May we had operations in June. So, four months Chandigarh suffered because the airport was in a hot zone unlike Mumbai and Delhi where at least there were some flights happening. There was attraction happening. But in Chandigarh and the entire belt, it was absolutely no aviation happening. So, people were stuck. They were going to other places and taking their flights. So, this is basically the difference which we will see this year in the additional improvement of EBITDA by these hotels performing.
Urmish Shah:
Right. So, one question more before I join back. On upcoming projects, especially the projects which were due to open in June and September and because of this LPG crisis and as you
explained in your opening remarks as well because geopolitical uncertainties, we can't do much. So, are these on track or how do you see the landscape evolving?
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
So, I definitely see that not only ours, anybody's projects will have some hiccups, and they will have to manage those hiccups because your availability of imported goods, your availability of within India also manufacturing, there are challenges. There are various issues happening. When you make a renovation, you might have the cement, not a problem. It's in India, it's available. You might have some other materials. But one or material might be there which is coming from abroad which as much as you need is not there. Suddenly you needed say 10,000 square feet or 8,000 square feet, you are getting goods for 4,000 only. Now the architect has to go back, think what the alternative can be. These are practical problems we faced. I am sharing with you that these have been challenges we have faced that suddenly the availability, the timelines, all are going for a toss because you earlier were doing just-in-time method say about a year back when everything was hunky-dory and literally it was like today you order and get the delivery tomorrow. But now there is a gap. So, we have to manage it. Now the plus point is that it is the owner's headache. The negative point is that we are also bound with them and that we are losing opportunity. Today our Dehradun if it was ready, which should have been ready at least a year and a half back based on certain things that had to be done. If this hotel was ready, it would have been doing exceedingly well because the Dehradun market was very buoyant, extremely buoyant. By the time it actually comes, I do not know. We estimate it to come in September. By the time if it comes actually what will be the scenario, we don't know. So, our internal planning also goes for a toss. The only plus point is that the CAPEX burden of this, today if it was my own project, then that burden is not there. That my unnecessary interest payout is there, my team is spending, that is not a problem. But the real reason we got into this marriage is for opportunity, not for saving fictitious interest of my money, which is not the fact.
Urmish Shah:
Sure sir. Thank you for the elaborate answer. Thank you.
Moderator:
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Pankaj from Axis Capital. Please go ahead.
Pankaj:
Sir, good afternoon. A couple of questions on business and a couple on the financial side. One is the IRA Mumbai facility; I understand it has discontinued since April 1st. So, question is that what contribution it played both on top line and bottom line in FY26 and how are we planning to recover this loss on both the parameters. The second question, you did explain the occupancy challenges you are facing right now. And you also mentioned that in Fort Jadhavgadh, you actually had some more issues. Can you just put more color on that? And at $29\%$ occupancy, is it really breaking even or are we making losses? And whatever the strategies you are planning to kind of counter on that. My last question, the financial side is we have seen a compression of almost like $4\%$ on EBITDA from FY25 to FY26. So, if you can just put us or help us with more color on that and are these increasing costs because of the Middle East crisis? If yes, then are they sustainable or are we going to see the impact in FY27 also?
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
So, let me start off with the easy one, Fort Jadhavgadh. In short answer, Fort Jadhavgadh basically we had some leadership change. We had some things over there done. And there was basically some strategy change which we have now this year. We have a tie-up with more vendors in terms of the weddings and all. Where earlier we had a tie-up with some limited vendors and that was not performing. So, actually Jadhavgadh is an emotionally very high product for us. We have a great affinity being very proud of what we have created over there, having a lot of emotions. But in terms of the financial context, definitely it is making money. And it has done very well in the past and this year in fact it will do exceedingly well more than previous year also. But the thing is that it's not a loss or that kind of what you mentioned and all that. And overall it is there in terms of this thing. And basically, we had to make some more changes in terms of how we are selling it. So, basically that is a major thing. We have done some improvements which did not go in this. See what happens is you have to keep tinkering. If you keep doing the same thing, you will get the same result. So, if you want an improvement, you have to do something new. So, each time like example, I will give you a practical example. When we changed our Orchid Hotel website, because our Orchid Hotel website was, while it was very good, but it was very functional looking. It was not aspirational looking. It was doing the job of what we were. But considering where we are going, the way Pune Orchid has been renovated, we have Fort Jadhavgadh, we have Orchid Rishivan, we have already Orchid Mumbai, we have beautiful more Orchid Passaros. Our Orchid Passaros initially did not do well for multiple months because it was a child-free resort. We were not taking people under the age of 15. And what was happening was that there was a resistance in the market. And ultimately what happened, once people realized that no, these guys are dead serious, they are sticking to their ethos, their value, that no, if I go with my wife, or if I go alone, whether a single man, single lady, as a single traveler, or if I am not going to be disturbed by children. Not that I have anything against them. But I don't want to go to a resort where, it's like if you are a vegetarian, you may not want to go to a non-vegetarian restaurant. It is your choice. It is your desire. This is my feeling. So, accordingly, when the market realized, it has done exceedingly well after that. So, this year we are getting a lot of advanced queries from such groups who are like that yes, it is our time, our children are studying abroad. Where are we going? Let's go to Orchid Passaros. So, all these kinds of products which are positioning themselves in a much different quadrant, is basically the aspiration. So, we changed our webpage. And what happened when we changed our webpage? Our business dropped drastically. Even though the website was beautiful. Why? Because the world doesn't work the way we think. The algorithm in Google suddenly said, this is something new. Why should I send this on the front page? So, we had to do a lot of again, spend money, bring SEO, do the marketing, again do the right linkages. It took us four months to bring our webpage back to a certain level. And touchwood again, the kind of volume that we are doing again, is back on track. So, we thought we are doing a very nice thing by changing the website. But what happened was the business fell. So, these things happen in our thing. But now, long term Orchid Hotel webpage will get its long-term benefit, which is already getting. Our business compared last year to this year has been more through our website. So, these are the kind of examples which are not worth for me to take for everyone's time for just one fort Jadhavgadh. Let me tell you the more important broader
issues about like IRA Mumbai. So, IRA Mumbai was contributing top-line almost INR 50 CR. That INR 50 CR is now not going to be there. Because this is basically earlier a lease. So, the revenue was captured by us. But now, let me come to the EBITDA side. There was an EBITDA neutral. In fact, I would say a marginal, maybe INR 1 crore, INR 1.5 crore EBITDA draining because of the admin cost when you add. Because on a top line of INR 50 CR, it was doing a INR 20 CR almost EBITDA. Almost. Because of which the EBITDA will go up because of IRA not being there. So, you can say technically EBITDA positive by INR 1 crore, INR 1.5 crore and INR 2 crores at least. Yes, while emotionally we have lost our property, which we had already sold. So, it's not that it's something new. It was somebody else's. We were now managing it. And now that person has decided and rightfully, he is the owner. So, he has said, I will do something else or I will do whatever I want to do. According to that, we are peacefully vacated basically, the thing in terms of moving out from there in terms of giving our thing of 31st. So, in the financial impact, 50 crore in the future will be down. EBITDA will go up by anywhere between INR 1 CR to INR 2 CR at least. At least. Okay. Secondly, coming to the financial side, 4%. This is a very pertinent point. I am glad you asked this because I was anyway going to take it up later on. One of the major costs, if you see, sir, has gone up is our labor cost. Our labor cost has gone up considerably. And for that, there is a very good reason we have. And I will break that reason and that will solve your problem of the issue on the short term and long term or permanent or non-permanent. So, basically, what we see is there is an impact to our labor cost. And one of the major reasons is basically the annual salary revisions based on the new wage code. The new wage code impact which has happened, which I am sure you must have heard in many other Investor Calls also, that has basically played a significant impact. So, first and foremost, the wage code impact has been about INR 4 crore, which is there to stay. But what is not there to stay is approximately, you can say, INR 2 crore of impact in terms of payout from the closure of IRA. So, INR 2 crore of EBITDA, approximately again, INR 2 crore, broadly there is a figure, which basically is a one-month salary which we have paid to those who have not wanted to continue with us. We had offered everybody relocation opportunities based on where they are from. If they are from Garhwal, they could go to Rishivan. If they are from North, they could go to Noida or whatever. We had given an opportunity to whosoever wants to continue within the Kamat family or Kamat Khandan members, we had given them first choice. Many of them chose not to relocate because Mumbai has its own charm and they did not want to. So, there was a payout. Out of this, whosoever has continued in their service, there has been no payout. That has been regular. But there has been a gratuity payment of I think INR 50 lakhs, INR 55 lakhs approximately. Between that has been the gratuity payment. There have been various other settlements. So, that INR 2 crore broad impact is a one-time impact which is there. Apart from this, the new hotels have also increased our payroll costs, which in the coming year will get absorbed in their holistic performance. For example, Chandigarh. We have almost INR 6 crore impact of Chandigarh salary. But the last year did not perform. It only performed INR 14 crore. But this year we expected to do INR 20 crore North. So, now the minute it does North of INR 20-22 crore, this salary impact will become as per the norms, which is basically that it should be roughly around anywhere between 20%-23%, 22%. We will target in that fashion, for example. So, then there is Hyderabad. Pre-opening expense was there and then the full
year impact has not been. Same way, Orchid Rishivan. Orchid Rishivan also salary has added to our salary cost. So, primarily this wage bill of ours, our target is to bring this down by performance and by rationalization wherever required, as we don't fire anyone. Even in the case that we find that any automation we have done and people are redundant, as a company policy, as a Kamat Family Policy, we don't kick out anyone. We don't retrench anyone. We re-issued them into some other role. Or we basically parallel move them into another role. So, this way basically we do. So, these are the main impacts of the financial. Some of these are here to stay but will get absorbed through performance. Some of them are here to stay because of the wage bill, which are not going. And then some are one-time impacts. Thank you.
Pankaj:
No, thank you, sir. I think fairly detailed clarification. Big thanks for that. Quick, one follow-up on IRA. You mentioned that there would be a drop by almost like INR 50 odd crores on top line. So, are we expecting a degrowth at least in terms of top line? You clarified that on EBITDA it will have a minimal impact. But we actually--
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
INR 50 crore you take it that this year we almost did INR 400 crores. We were down by only INR 20 lakh. Okay. On a total company level. Top line INR 50 crore you minus that and EBITDA you add at least INR 2 crore.
Pankaj:
So, effectively you are saying that in FY27 we might see even a degrowth at least in terms of top line if not in terms of bottom line.
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
Absolutely, sir. We will have. But then other properties will fill into this gap. Okay. Whatever expansions we are doing, whatever the current hotels which have not performed fully last year will perform this year. So, we will find accordingly a replacement in that sense. But yes. That INR 50 crores or whatever calculation you can take.
Pankaj:
Okay, sir. Last question, sir. In Jadhavgadh Fort Is there a target occupancy you are planning for this FY27?
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
Let's give other a chance. Let's come back, sir, if you don't mind, Pankaj ji.
Pankaj:
Okay. Thank you, sir. Thanks a lot.
Moderator:
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Guneet Singh from Counter Cyclical PMS. Please go ahead.
Guneet Singh:
Hi, sir. Thank you for this opportunity. So, firstly, I would like to understand the other income of INR 10 crores in the P&L and also why I our finance cost increase to INR 10 CR whereas our total borrowings have gone down to I think about INR 107 CR.
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
So, one is the other incomes are basically we have a lot of miscellaneous incomes also. We have rental income. We have other income from cross basically interest from our companies given to each other. Then there are miscellaneous incomes which don't fall in the bracket of
our core operational income. That is basically it. For example, in our corporate office, KHIL House, we have office space which is given on rent. A few crores come from that. Then we have various other locations also which we have as part of the company from where you get miscellaneous income, rental income, other things. So, it's basically that, sir. It's mainly and then there is a fair amount of portion on that which is interest, which basically if the company has given, for example, one of the loans which was given at that time was to a company which is a sister concern is Ilex. Ilex was having a loan of INR 5 crore but Ilex has done exceedingly well. It has paid off that loan to KHIL and it has paid interest also. So, the interest portion would have come in other income and that INR 5 crore loan which Ilex has taken that it has paid back to KHIL. KHIL is going to utilize that in an FD for future contingency, for future. That's why basically our Kamat Hotel's cash balance has been very robust and gone up. So, we have a good cash, very good cash in hand, particularly for contingencies such as Corona or Ukraine war or Iran war and all these kind of things that keep happening every six months.
Guneet Singh:
Can you give a breakdown of the other income because INR 10 CR, INR 5 CR, the one-time loan.
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
I will do one thing, sir. Nikhil, note it down. I will send you the detailed breakdown of that in that fashion.
Guneet Singh:
And what about the finance cost? INR 10 CR seems to be a bit high.
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
Let me get back to you on this. Let me just get back to you on this, sir. Please go ahead.
Guneet Singh:
So, my next question is regarding the outlook for the coming year. So, if we look at the ARR that has been falling across all our verticals, whether it's Orchid, Toyam or IRA.
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
Sir, I already answered this question. Sir, I answered this question before. I will just repeat in very short. Because new hotels have come and the base has become bigger, occupancy and ARR has fallen.
Guneet Singh:
I will just continue my question. So, my question is that since new hotels are coming up, like you mentioned, which all properties do you think which did not mature in FY26 and you expect significant growth in FY27 if you can mention the properties?
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
All the properties which have been opened will mature this year. All. Whether it's Panchgani, whether it's Rishivan, whether it is all. All of them. Because you require a stabilization time. That pain has been taken last year. So, this year will be the gain. It is for all. Sambhaji Nagar when it opened, it was in loss. Today, Sambhaji Nagar is in profit. Sambhaji Nagar has now stabilized because it is the second year running. Whatever pain had to happen, it happened in its first year. And that's why it is now doing exceedingly well. So, it happens for all the hotels. So, you take it for all the hotels that this year will be better where there will be EBITDA contributing rather than being negative in terms of their pre-opening costs and others becoming EBITDA negative.
Guneet Singh:
Got it. So, basically this IRA Mumbai is going out of the picture. So, even if we exclude the revenue of IRA Mumbai from our top line, it comes to about INR 330-340 CR currently. So, what kind of growth do we expect in FY27 if you would like to give a number in terms of top line?
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
I would not like to speculate anything right now. Considering various things, I would not like to speculate on any or give any guidance or give any kind of input on that point. Let's give someone else a point now.
Guneet Singh:
Thank you.
Moderator:
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Sagar Tanna from Alchemy Ventures. Please go ahead.
Sagar Tanna:
Hi Vishal.
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
Hello Mr. Tanna, how are you sir?
Sagar Tanna:
All well. Thank you. Can you quantify how many keys did we open in FY26?
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
Yes. One second. So, we opened approximately, let me just take out that. What is the next question, sir while I get the details on this one?
Sagar Tanna:
Okay. If you can quantify how much was the EBITDA drag from the newer properties?
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
Approximately 250-260 keys were added. This is my grossing in case if I missed out any hotel, but 260 keys we added. That is what we added. And what is the EBITDA drag? The EBITDA drag actually would be, if see now, there are two ways to look at it. One is basically that these are the sunk cost and one is the operating cost. Broadly if I have to say that, I would say that you can take INR 10 crore broadly as the drag in terms of if I was to say this is the labor cost, this is the deployment cost, this is the various other expenses. But out of this, INR 6 crores net-net will come back into circulation through the routine operations. So, they will get absorbed as part of our GOP. The thumb rule which we say that if a hotel is doing INR 100 rupees, then the thumb rule is that it will do a GOP of 35% suppose. So, those expenses will come in next year in that 65%. So, pre-opening cost was a burden before, but then it becomes part of your operations. So, that is how the EBITDA will improve.
Sagar Tanna:
Got it. And how many keys do we think we will be able to operationalize in FY27?
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
This year we should be looking at operating additionally opening at least 150 to 200 keys.
Sagar Tanna:
Got it. Thank you and all the best.
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
I am being very modest based on what I see right now in hand, not for the full year. I am assuming based on only what I have in hand. So, the entire year is left for us to look at our signups. The entire this thing further is basically there. So, this is only what we see as of now.
Sagar Tanna:
Sure. Thank you and all the best. Thank you, sir.
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
Thank you.
Moderator:
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Ranit Kapoor from Investire Investments. Please go ahead.
Runit Kapoor:
Hi, thanks for the opportunity. So, I wanted to know that since you said that you have retained your employees for IRA Orchid Mumbai so what will be the additional burden due to this employee cost for that?
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
Sir, there is no additional burden because wherever the vacancies were there, we opened those vacancies for first come first serve basis to our employees of IRA. So, they have been absorbed in the hotels where there was a vacancy. So, it has not been a forced employment. It has been voluntary where they have said that these are the opportunities. Who would like to take it where? And based on that, they have either taken the opportunities or they have moved on. So, the impact, the people who have moved to our various hotels is that they are absorbed in that payroll. The impact of those who have moved out of our system by taking another job, by resigning, there we have paid them their existing salary and a month's pay. So, when it closed on 31st of March, they obviously got their salary of 31st of March and then they have been paid one month notice period and whatever additional as per government norms the dues are there, gratuity, PF, their salary, any other additional whatever is there and because see we want these people back. It's not their fault that IRA has to close. So, we want their goodwill and we want that whenever needed some of them join us back. In fact, some who left us have rejoined us when the vacancies have opened in our various hotels. One has gone to Panchgani, one has joined in Orchid Mumbai, one has joined, so basically the point is that they have the affection. It's just that since we don't have the space, they have gone somewhere else and then they can join back to Kamat whenever the opportunity arises. So, there has been no financial impact beyond our routine payments which are supposed to be done as per the law and as per what is right to them. And there is nothing as an extra burden on our payroll currently.
Runit Kapoor:
Okay, and secondly, are we looking at any large hotel to overcome this loss of revenue?
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
100%. We are definitely looking at, one, is that the current new openings and the old hotels we have partially opened, this year will give their full performance. So, they will fill this hole. Apart from that, some new hotel openings which are going to happen, they should also fill this hole. And then some tie-ups which are going to happen, which at the appropriate time will be announced, we will add to take it up further beyond that.
Runit Kapoor:
Okay, and my last question is regarding this Ilex developers. I think IRA Orchid Bhubaneshwar the company has only around the 32% stake in this. So, are we trying to convert it into the 100% stake, those balances by the promoters only?
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
Correct. As of now, sir, currently there is no plan. As and when there is, we will inform everybody.
Runit Kapoor:
That's it also. Thank you, sir.
Moderator:
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Sanjeev Pandya from Lancers Impex. Please go ahead.
Sanjeev Pandya:
Sir, you talked about income from your surplus assets. It seems to be rather a large number, about INR 10 crores. So, on the one hand, you seem to be exercised about the excess assets that you are holding. Now from a debt reduction perspective, we know that a general rule in the market, especially for a company coming out of restructuring, is that for every rupee of debt that you pay, it translates into Rs. 2 to Rs. 3 of market cap that you get as the risk perception on the company starts to go down. So, I also heard you say that you are now carrying excess cash. So, what would be the return on that excess cash, given that your interest rate is a little higher than average?
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
So, sir, our current interest rate from Axis Finance is at 9.75%. And we have INR 86 CR as our total company loan. And we have cash in hand, approximately, between INR 35 CR and INR 40 CR. I think it's around INR 40 CR. And our EBITDA is INR 110 crores. And our EBITDA is INR 110 CR. So, we have come out of our problems, sir, thanks to our investors at that time, thanks to people who funded us in 2022. So, there is now particularly no company stress and we don't intend to do anything which will unnecessarily create that repeat telecast of the past. We have learnt our lessons, we have done the needful. So, I think financially we are quite comfortable in terms of fulfilling our obligations to our lenders. And we are okay, sir, in that regard. And still expanding. And whatever, by the way, expansions we are doing, we are doing from internal accrual using our EBITDA. So, the cash which is there, which is generated, is helping us enhance our properties or do the expansion or whatever the things are there.
Sanjeev Pandya:
But it is not going to be used to prepay any debt?
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
Sir, there is no point in me prepaying INR 86 CR. with this INR 40 CR and bring it down to INR 46 CR. Because I would rather have contingency in my hand, which is basically the thing. Now, one of the things, sir, I would like to explain, because you asked about this INR 10 crore which is there. One of the things also is that this INR 10 crore has income tax refund, which is approximately INR 3 crore worth of income tax refund, which is there, rent is there. So, like I said, miscellaneous income, sir, which is there, are in this, which you asked, that INR 10 crore.
Moderator:
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen please press “*” and “1” now.
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
I think if there are no further questions, we can end the conference. And by the way, if anybody still does have and does not want to ask on this forum, we have always been more than welcome to have you reach out to me or Mr. Nikhil. Oh! yes, and one thing I would like to mention for everybody, I am very, very glad to inform everyone, as you may have read on the Stock Exchange, or if you have not, that we have Mr. Milind Wadekar joining us as our CFO. Mr. Milind Wadekar is a very seasoned industry professional. He has been a part of Chalet Hotels for 15 years. He was the CFO of Chalet from which after he moved to Ventive. Chalet being one of the largest listed companies, Ventive also is in the top, if I am mistaken, or top 5, top 8 in terms of market cap. And the main important thing is that we are getting a person whose ethos matches. He is thoroughbred from the industry. He was earlier the CFO of Leela also, earlier before moving to Chalet. So, he knows our industry. And we are going to be having a person who will be able to present Kamat better, guide Kamat better. He is already a person who is known in the market and is seen to be cost-conscious. So, this year, particularly our EBITDA enhancement in terms of improved processes, improved systems. So, we are very lucky that we are getting a gentleman from such a staunch background, a stalwart from the industry, joining Kamat. And if he's joining Kamat at the stage at which we are, it's because he also sees that where Kamat wishes to go and how he can be an integral part of this journey in the future. So, I think this is something which I would definitely like to have all our listeners note and appreciate. And if there is anything about this, they can reach out to Mr. Nikhil. They can reach out to me. So, I look forward to working extensively, closely with Mr. Milind. And I am sure all of you will find him also, because he's already doing a lot of investor relations and investor meets and outreach for Ventive. So, he will, in fact, wherever we lack, he will guide us to improve and become better. So, I think that's something I look forward to. So, this is something I did want to mention. I forgot to mention it before. So, thank you.
Moderator:
Thank you very much. As there are no further questions from the participants, I now hand the conference over to Management for the closing comments.
Vishal Vithal Kamat:
So, thank you, everyone. I really appreciate the questions. The questions this time were much, much more different. They were more interesting in terms of a much wider. And the thing I think, if there's still, I would like to repeat that if still anyone has any questions, doubts, queries, please don't hesitate to reach out to Mr. Nikhil or to me. We are more than welcome to answer. Many of you all do tend to come and meet us off and on and it's not only about Kamat. We are here in general also. We know that if our sector thrives, we thrive. Only we thriving will not be the thing. So, if you have in general also any particular thing, we are open to giving our perspective on whatever it would be. So, thank you, everybody. I appreciate the high attendance that we regularly get. And I appreciate all of you taking this one-hour time out. Namaskar. Thank you.
Moderator:
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Kamat Hotels India Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us. And you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.