The shares of The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) will remain in focus on Tuesday after the Tata Group company reported a 15% rise in net profit to Rs 600 crore for the fourth quarter of FY26, from Rs 522 crore in the same period last year.
While net profit grew on a year-on-year basis, it fell around 36% from the Rs 903 crore reported in the third quarter of the same financial year. Revenue from operations of the company that operates the Taj hotels reached Rs 2,765 crore in Q4 FY26, marking a rise of more than 14% from the Rs 2,425 crore reported in Q4 FY25, but a decline of nearly 3% sequentially from the Rs 2,842 crore revenue reported in the October-December quarter of FY26.
IHCL reported a 15% year-on-year rise in EBITDA to Rs 1,052 crore with EBITDA margin at 37% during the January-March quarter of FY26.
Along with the Q4 results, IHCL said that its board of directors during its meeting has recommended a dividend of Rs 3.25 per equity share (325%) with a face value of Re 1 each, subject to shareholders’ approval at its upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM). If approved, the dividend will be paid within five days from the date of the AGM, the company said. The record date to determine the eligibility of shareholders set to receive the prospective dividend is yet to be announced.
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Iran-US war impact on IHCL
The company acknowledged the impact of the Iran-US war on its business. It saw last minute MICE cancellations, with Dubai Hotels occupancy reducing to 25%, impacting fee income. Additionally, airline route suspensions further impacted inbound travel. IHCL said it managed the LPG supply disruption by using alternative fuels in domestic hotels.
IHCL Managing Director and CEO Puneet Chhatwal said that Q4 marked the sixteenth consecutive quarter of record performance, notwithstanding the impact of West Asia conflict. “For FY2026, the company delivered on its guidance of double-digit revenue growth despite macro-headwinds with revenue of INR 9,971 crores, a growth of 16% leading to an all-time high EBITDA of INR 3,477 crores, EBITDA margin of 34.9% resulting in the best ever PAT of Rs 2,084 crores,” he said.
“IHCL, led by its multi-brand presence across segments coupled with a balanced growth strategy focused on capital light with select investments has delivered consistent performance over sixteen quarters. This diversification strategy by brand, by nature of contract and by geography has driven operating leverage, grown high margin fee-based businesses and built resilience, delivering a double digit CAGR (FY23 – FY26) across all metrics of IHCL,” he added.
Morgan Stanely on IHCL
Morgan Stanley maintained its ‘Equal-weight’ with a target price of Rs 700 apiece, implying an upside potential of nearly 6% from the stock’s previous closing price. The international brokerage said that the company’s standalone RevPAR growth at 13% YoY beat estimates, ET Now reported.
IHCL reiterated double-digit consolidated revenue growth guidance for FY27. Morgan Stanley said a diversified hospitality ecosystem is aiding resilience and scale.
Elara Capital on IHCL
Elara Capital downgraded the shares of IHCL to ‘Accumulate’ from ‘Buy’, with a target price of Rs 716 apiece. This implies an upside potential of more than 8% from the stock’s previous closing price of Rs 661.30 apiece on NSE.
The brokerage trimmed its earnings estimates for IHCL due to the West Asia conflict impact on MICE and inbound travel, ET Now reported. It expects FY27 topline CAGR of 14%, led by key additions, RevPAR growth and acquisitions, the report added.
Elara Capital highlighted that the company sees temporary disruption in Dubai and profitability remains a drag. Elara cut FY27 EBITDA and PAT estimates by 4% each.
JM Financial on IHCL
JM Financial maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on the shares of IHCL, but reduced its target price to Rs 830 apiece. This implies an upside potential of more than 25% from the stock’s previous closing price.
The domestic brokerage said that IHCL reported a healthy Q4 despite geopolitical headwinds. “During the year, IHCL opened 132 hotels (including a few from the Pride portfolio) and is targeting 60+ openings in FY27E. These assets along with 6–8% YoY uptick in RevPAR should drive 12–14% YoY growth in top line with upside risk stemming from normalisation of the geopolitical situation,” it said.
JM Financial now expects IHCL to report 14%/15% CAGR in Revenue/EBITDA over FY26–28E aided by 7% CAGR in ARR and gradual improvement in occupancy.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
