Garden hotel closed; Hyatt Hotel occupancy jumps to 50.82 pc in Q1-FY23
By CL Jose
THRISSUR/August 18-2022: Lulu International Convention Centre Pvt Ltd (LICCPL), jointly promoted by Yusuf Ali and Ashraf Ali, has brought down its net loss to Rs50.22 crore in 2021-22 (FY22) from Rs54.82 crore in the previous year.
Yusuf Ali is managing director of Emke Group that runs the storied Lulu International chain of malls.
Emke group is a large, diversified conglomerate having varied business operations including retailing, imports & exports, trading, shipping, IT, travel & tourism, and education sectors spread out in GCC, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Kenya, Tanzania and Benin.
The poor performance of LICCPL in the past two years can very well be attributed to the higher overhead costs and low occupancy levels, thanks to the COVID 19-induced poor market conditions and the restrictions the hotel industry has been observing during the past two years.
The operating income of the company, which was incorporated in September 2004, increased to Rs14.49 crore in FY22 from Rs11.06 crore a year earlier.
Bank loans
The company with total bank loans of Rs192.68 crore as of March 31, 2022, could only achieve occupancy level of 25.62 per cent for its hotel in FY22 though has been a marked improvement from 14.07 per cent the company logged for the previous year.
Meanwhile, LICCPL closed the Garden hotel with 35 rooms during FY22.
“The Indian hospitality industry is among the sectors that have been impacted the earliest by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic on account of its inextricable linkage with travel and tourism, especially foreign travel and tourism,” a note published by the leading rating agency, Care Ratings said.
Green shoots
However, signs of green shoots have appeared with the occupancy level of Hyatt Hotel during the first quarter of the current year having almost doubled to 50.82 pr cent compared with that in FY22.
“The company commenced operations of the convention centre which was under renovation for the past couple of years since July 26, 2022, which is expected to aid in increased turnover,” Care added.
Promoters’ support
Care said the promoters have demonstrated considerable support towards the projects in the past, and the total amount of interest-free unsecured loans extended by the promoters stood at Rs90.08 crore as on March 31, 2022 (Provisional) as against Rs75.88 crore as on March 31, 2021.
The agency added that the promoters had infused Rs28.51 crore of unsecured loans in FY22 through another group entity to support operations.
LICCPL is primarily engaged in the business of running a banquet hall, restaurant, convention centre and a 77-room hotel.
The convention centre, which was renovated recently, is spread over an area of 96,000 sq ft, and has a seating capacity of over 5000.
