Indian conglomerate company ITC is keen to move ahead with its previously announced plans to demerge its hotels business.
According to a report by The Hindu BusinessLine, the company’s proposal to demerge its hotels business was deferred due to the global pandemic and is now “very much on the table”.
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ITC’s current plans include setting up an “alternative business structure” specifically for the hotels business segment.
ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri said: “In the 2019-20 annual report, we had said that we would be creating an alternative structure for our hotels business. But we had to put the decision on hold due to the pandemic as the industry was not doing well. We will be taking the plan forward in line with the industry recovery dynamic.”
One of the major reasons to reconsider this demerger proposal was the “stellar recovery” achieved by the hotels segment during the previous year.
As per ITC’s recently published FY22 financial report, the revenues of the company’s hotels business “doubled” over the fiscal year (FY) 2022-23 and saw about 1.4 times pre-pandemic levels.
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By GlobalDataFor the past 12 months, ending on 31 March 2023, ITC’s hotels business recorded overall revenues of approximately Rs25.85bn ($312.52m), compared with Rs12.85bn ($155.35m) revenues recorded during the FY2021-22.
Puri also added: “In the last 12 months we have opened almost a hotel a month.”
The company opened a total of 11 new properties in its portfolio during FY2022-23, all of which are included under management contracts, including the most recent Mementos by ITC Hotels in Udaipur, Rajasthan.
Other new properties include Storii Amoha Retreat at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, Storii Shanti Morada at Goa as well as Welcomhotel Jim Corbett and Welcomhotel Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
