Indian Hotels Q3 profit beat on robust travel demand

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian Hotels Company Ltd reported a better-than-expected third-quarter profit on Tuesday, boosted by increased visits from holiday and business travellers. The Tata Group-backed company reported a five-fold increase in consolidated net profit at 3.83 billion rupees ($46.78 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with 760.1 million rupees a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 2.55 billion rupees, according to IBES Refinitiv data.

The Indian hotel industry benefited from a steady rise in domestic and international travel, as pandemic restrictions were lifted, while more people began opting for the so-called 'workations' and 'staycations'.

Strong demand in the quarter drove occupancy to over 70% in both leisure and business hotels in key domestic markets, up 27% from pre-COVID levels, the operator of Taj hotels said in a statement.

This drove revenue from operations up 51.7% to 16.86 billion rupees in the quarter.

"The demand outlook for the sector in 2023 remains robust on the back of sporting events such as world cup hockey and cricket, ... and recovery of inbound and corporate travel," Chief Executive Officer Puneet Chhatwal said.

($1 = 81.8640 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Navamya Ganesh Acharya in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng)